Israeli forces penetrate Gaza in massive show of might

Air strikes and sonic booms shook Gaza on Wednesday as thousands of Israeli troops backed by tanks penetrated the impoverished coastal strip in a massive show of might designed to force Islamic militants to free a soldier whose fate has jolted Mideast politics.

Photo: Israeli forces penetrate Gaza in massive show of might

In a bold warning to the country that shelters the political leader of the Islamic Hamas group, Israeli warplanes buzzed the home of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Palestinians filled up on basic supplies after war planes knocked out electricity, raising the specter of a humanitarian crisis. The Hamas-led government's information ministry warned of "epidemics and health disasters" because of damaged water pipes feeding central Gaza.

Witnesses reported heavy shelling around Gaza's long-closed airport, and Israeli missiles hit two empty Hamas training camps and a rocket-building factory. Warplanes flew low over the strip, rocking it with sonic booms and shattering windows. Troops in Israel backed up the assault with artillery fire.

As nightfall descended over northern Gaza, Israeli tanks shelled former settlements abandoned during last year's pullout, and Israeli helicopters hovered at low altitudes. There was no sign of ground troops moving into Gaza. But three gates in a border fence were open, in apparent preparation for the entrance of Israeli forces.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert warned of even harsher action while Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas deplored the incursion as a "crime against humanity."

Anxious Palestinians pondered whether the incursion, the first large-scale ground offensive since Israel withdrew from Gaza last year, was essentially a "shock-and-awe" display designed to intimidate militants, or whether it was a prelude to a full-scale invasion of the strip.

Further complicating the situation were militant claims that they had kidnapped two more Israelis: an 18-year-old Jewish settler in the West Bank named Eliahu Asheri and an unidentified 62-year-old Israeli from the central Israeli city of Rishon Lezion. Asheri's mother confirmed her son was missing, and police said they had a missing person's report that matched the older man.

The Israeli assault came as diplomatic efforts to free the 19-year-old Israeli soldier, Cpl. Gilad Shalit, bogged down with Hamas demanding a prisoner swap and Israel refusing, demanding Shalit's unconditional release. Abbas and Egyptian dignitaries tried to persuade Syrian President Assad to use his influence with Khaled Mashaal, the Hamas leader exiled in Syria, to free Shalit. Assad agreed, but without results, said a senior Abbas aide.

Israeli airplanes flew over a residence belonging to Assad in an overnight raid near the Mediterranean port city of Latakia in northwestern Syria, military officials confirmed, citing the "direct link" between Syria and Hamas. Israeli television reports said four planes were involved in the low-altitude flight, and Assad was home at the time.

As for Mashaal, Israeli Justice Minister Haim Ramon said the hard-line Hamas leader, who appears to be increasingly at odds with several more moderate Hamas politicians in Gaza, is in Israel's sights for assassination, reports AP.

O.Ch.