Israel builds forces on Gaza border
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – Israel massed tanks and troops along Gaza’s northern border early today, firing artillery and unleashing more airstrikes in a show of force after the prime minister ordered his army to “do all it can” to free an abducted soldier.
At daybreak Monday, a small force of Israeli tanks entered northern Gaza, but the military said it was a “limited” mission to find explosives and tunnels near the border fence.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s warning signaled the government was losing patience with diplomatic efforts to end the week-old crisis over the captive soldier, Cpl. Gilad Shalit, and was preparing for a possible escalation of its military offensive.
Israeli aircraft went back into action early today, hitting several targets around the Gaza Strip including a building in Gaza City where the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades has an office, Palestinians and the military said. Al-Aqsa is a violent offshoot of moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah movement.
A missile struck the second floor of the two-story building, setting it on fire. No one was in the office at the time of the attack, after midnight. A family living on the first floor escaped harm.
Israel also shelled northern Gaza early today, slightly wounding one person in a house on the outskirts of the town of Beit Hanoun, Palestinians said. The military confirmed artillery was fired in the area.
Israeli aircraft, gunboats and artillery have pounded Gaza since troops and tanks took up positions in the south of the coastal strip on Wednesday. The operation is aimed at pressuring Palestinians to free Shalit. Five Palestinian fighters have been reported killed, four of them on Sunday.
Israel has been massing forces across from Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza. Olmert called off a planned invasion late last week, but there had been signs that the military was ready to roll again.
Hamas-affiliated militants holding Shalit have offered to give Israel information about him in exchange for the release of hundreds of prisoners in Israeli jails, a deal Israel rejects.
“These are difficult days for Israel, but we have no intention of giving in to any form of blackmailing,” Olmert said Sunday. “Everyone understands that giving in to terror today means an invitation to the next act of terrorism, and we will not act that way.”
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called Olmert Sunday to discuss the situation, Olmert’s office said in a statement. He told Rice Israel would use all means at its disposal to get Shalit released and said there was no humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Palestinian officials had warned Saturday that a shortage of fuel threatened to shut down generators used to pump water and power hospitals.
Israel reopened the main cargo crossing with Gaza to allow 50 trucks of food, medical supplies and fuel into Gaza from Israel, Israeli officials said. Trucks carrying diesel fuel, gasoline and natural gas also began entering northeastern Gaza through the Nahal Oz border crossing.
“I take personal responsibility for what is happening in Gaza. I want nobody to sleep at night in Gaza. I want them to know what it’s like,” Olmert told his Cabinet. “People are saying it’s uncomfortable. It will be uncomfortable, (but) nobody dies from being uncomfortable.”
Olmert told the Cabinet he had instructed the military to “do all it can” to get Shalit back safely, but added that the offensive would end immediately if he was released, according to a meeting participant who spoke on condition of anonymity.