Israeli Planes Hit 30 Targets Including Interior Ministry In Gaza
Jacob Cherian - All Headline News Staff Writer Gaza City, Gaza Strip (AHN) - Israeli forces pressurized the Hamas-led government to release a kidnapped soldier with a bombardment of air strikes on the home of the Palestinian Interior minister. More than 30 targets, including roads, bridges and power plants, were also hit by the Israeli air force within 24 hours. Following a delay in an extensive ground troop offensive into the Gaza strip, army officials fired artillery shells in an effort to release Cpl. Gilad Shalit, 19. Gaza militants, killing two other soldiers during an attack on an Israeli outpost, captured the officer on Sunday. The Israel-Gaza border was lined with Israeli troops waiting for a go-ahead for an invasion. President Hosni Mubareck of Egypt said that he had mediated a conditional release of Shalit by the militants. However, he also stated that Israel was apparently not willing to meet the conditions. Israel has denied such an offer, though a senior government official secretly stated that a planned ground initiative was delayed upon the request of Egypt in order to give the mediators a chance to resolve the conflict. Other officials contradicted by saying that it was not because of Egypt and that it was consistent with the nature of Israel's handling of the crisis to suspend the use of force when required. Tzahi Hanegbi, head of the Israeli parliament's foreign affairs and defense committee, |
