Israeli Forces Push Into Gaza Amid Worry Over Kidnapped Soldier ,Combined News Sources

JERUSALEM - Israeli tanks and troops began moving into Gaza early Wednesday as Jerusalem awaited word of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit, nabbed by Palestinian gunmen following an attack on an Israeli outpost earlier this week.

Israeli war planes bombed bridges and a power station and fired missiles at fields in northern Gaza to prevent terrorists from launching rockets from the area. Israeli planes also hit a rocket-making factory in southern Gaza.

"We need to all be focused on bringing home Gilad Shalit. We are ready for a long and assertive operation. We will fight terror and we won't negotiate with the kidnappers," Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told the Knesset Tuesday.

Israeli soldier prays next to armored convoy near Kibbutz Mefalsim at the Israeli border with the Gaza Strip.

"Our efforts," Olmert said, "are not intended to punish the Palestinian people, but to bring Shalit home. We don't want to harm innocent people, but we won't let the Palestinians harm us."

Shalit is being held in the southern Gaza Strip, a senior IDF intelligence officer told the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Tuesday. He said the soldier was in the hands of Hamas's military wing, which was getting orders from Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal.

The intelligence officer also said that Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ismail Haniya did not know of Shalit's exact location but that he was acquainted with the people who kidnapped him. He added that Haniya and Palestinian Foreign Minister Mahmoud a-Zahar were acting to solve the situation and that the IDF was operating in order to prevent the soldier from being moved out of Gaza and into Sinai.

Palestinian security officials assumed the soldier was in a refugee camp in the Rafah area. Mohammed Abdel Al, a spokesman for the Popular Resistance Committees, said the soldier was in a secure place that the "Zionist enemy cannot reach."

Abdel Al said the release of further information would depend on Israel. "The Zionists are looking for any information. We remind them there is nothing for free," he told reporters in the Gaza Strip. He also revealed that the Kerem Shalom attack had been planned for almost two months.

Vice Premier Shimon Peres said that Mashaal and Syrian President Bashar Assad, "who is sheltering Mashaal," were responsible for the kidnapping. "We will deal with Khaled Mashaal personally, he instigated the kidnapping and is preventing the release," said Peres.

Meanwhile, Egypt deployed some 2,500 troops along its border with Gaza amid concerns that Gazans would attempt to cross into Egypt in the event of an IDF incursion.

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Richard Jones expressed cautious optimism that Shalit would be released. Jones also said the problem seemed to be in Damascus [where Mashaal operates] and that efforts should be focused there, Army Radio reported.

Earlier Tuesday, Shalit's family received a message from the IDF that Gilad was suffering from a broken hand and a stomach wound. The message was delivered to Israel by Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, who said that Shalit was being treated for his wounds.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and the security establishment decided not to stop the transfer of supplies to the Gaza Strip after initially considering whether to cut off water and electricity from the area if the soldier was not released within 48 hours, Army Radio reported.

Olmert ruled out negotiations with Shalit's captors promising a "broad and ongoing" military offensive in the Gaza Strip.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged Israel to exercise restraint. (JPFS and CNSNews.com)

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