Israel Strikes at Hamas Anew

Smoke billows in the outskirts of the Palestinian town of Beit Hanoun, in the northern Gaza Strip, after a barrage of artillery fire from Israeli positions. (By Baz Ratner -- Associated Press)

A tank force remains camped on the mothballed Gaza international airport complex in the southeastern part of the strip -- the first significant presence that Israel has had on the ground here since completing the evacuation of its settlements and military bases last fall.

A small number of Israeli troops crossed less than a quarter-mile inside the Gaza border Saturday near the central city of Khan Younis, looking for tunnels and explosives. Hamas gunmen fired on the soldiers and hit a bulldozer with an anti-tank missile. There were no reports of injuries.

In a statement issued early Saturday, the armed groups holding Shalit demanded that Israel free 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for his release. The Israeli government rejected the offer, reaffirming its own demand that Shalit be returned safely without conditions.

The groups had proposed previously that Israel release the roughly 400 Palestinian women and minors in Israeli jails in exchange for information about Shalit, who was reportedly wounded in the torso during the attack. According to Israel's prison authority, there are slightly more than 8,500 Palestinians in Israeli jails.

"The Jewish enemy should know that its threats and violence, as well as the Egyptians, will not work against the Palestinian resistance," said Abu Mujahed, a spokesman for the Popular Resistance Committees, one of the groups holding Shalit. "We will not give anything about this soldier for free, not even information, until the Palestinian women and children are free. And if they come in," he said in reference to the army, "Gaza will be a cemetery for Israeli soldiers."

A senior Hamas figure and Palestinian officials from outside the movement said Shalit's captors have rejected Egyptian proposals that the soldier be released immediately in return for guarantees from Israel that it would set free some Palestinian prisoners in the near future.

Palestinian officials familiar with the talks said Israel has also refused to guarantee future releases, partly because Prime Minister Ehud Olmert intends to discuss the issue of Palestinian prisoners with Abbas during their first formal meeting, which before Shalit's capture had been expected within weeks. Rewarding Hamas by releasing prisoners, Palestinian officials said, would undermine Abbas, a moderate who favors peace talks to resolve the conflict with Israel.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is also playing a key role in the talks, Aburdeneh said. As a Muslim country that recognizes the Jewish state, Turkey has influence with the Israeli government.

In a televised interview Saturday, Erdogan called on Israel to release the more than 60 Hamas officials, including eight cabinet members, that it arrested last week as a step toward resolving the standoff over Shalit.