Israeli Forces Enter Gaza
Hector Duarte Jr. - All Headline News Staff Reporter West Bank, Gaza Strip (AHN) - A small Israeli force entered the Gaza Strip in search of tunnels and mines, military sources report. Tanks and bulldozers moved in, but military sources say it was not part of a large-scale incursion, which was previously threatened. This is the first time Israeli troops have entered the area since a soldier was abducted last week. Israel launched strikes against Gaza to try and speed his release. Military sources tell the BBC, forces sent into northern Gaza were there "to conduct pinpoint operations to find tunnels and explosive devices." A witness on the border said "around 25 Israeli tanks crossed the border in waves of eight tanks." On Sunday, tanks gathered on the Israeli border and aircraft and artillery rocked northern Gaza, as Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert instructed his army to "do all it can" to free the captured soldier, identified as 19-year-old Cpl. Gilad Shalit, 19. The military arm of Hamas has said it will attack targets within Israel if it does not end its offensive against Gaza. There have yet been no confirmed reports about Cpl. Shalit's condition. On Saturday, Israeli combat helicopters conducted a raid on the Palestinian cabinet buildings, hitting the office of Prime Minister Ismail Haniya, who was not in the building at the time. Three security guards were hurt.
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