Middle East: Israeli aircraft yesterday sent missiles slamming into the Gaza office of Ismail Haniyeh, vividly communicating to the Hamas prime minister and his colleagues the price of failing to secure the release of an Israeli soldier being held captive in the coastal strip.
Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert, meanwhile, told ministers at the weekly cabinet meeting that the incursion into Gaza would end the moment the abducted soldier, Corp Gilad Shalit (19), was released. But defence officials cautioned that the kidnapping crisis could become a long, drawn-out affair.
Yesterday Israeli soldiers shot dead three Palestinian gunmen in a confrontation in the southern Gaza Strip, the Israeli army and medics said. The violence occurred at Gaza's disused international airport, where Israeli forces have been deployed since their incursion last week.
An Israeli government official quoted Mr Olmert as telling his ministers that if Corp Shalit "is released, the military activity that began with the kidnapping will stop". But the prime minister also said that as long as the soldier remains captive, "I want no one to sleep at night in Gaza. I want them to know what it feels like."
The Israeli leader also warned that Israel might extend the arrests of top Hamas officials to Gaza. After Israel last week seized 64 Hamas officials, including eight cabinet ministers and 20 lawmakers, Mr Olmert said yesterday he would "not promise" that the arrests would be limited to the West Bank.
Israeli attack helicopters fired two missiles shortly before 2am at Mr Haniyeh's office, setting it ablaze. The office was empty at the time. Israel has also targeted the Palestinian interior ministry since launching a broad military offensive last week in Gaza, following an attack on an army post inside Israel during which the soldier was kidnapped. A Hamas militant was killed yesterday in a strike on an institution belonging to the Islamic group in northern Gaza.
Surveying the damage to his office, Mr Haniyeh condemned Israel's actions as "the policy of the jungle". Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, who later visited the gutted office with Mr Haniyeh, called the strike "a dirty, criminal act".
Responding to the targeting of Mr Haniyeh's office, the Hamas military wing threatened to carry out attacks against schools, power plants and other institutions inside Israel. "If they continue with these attacks we will strike similar targets in the Zionist occupation which we have not targeted until now," said Abu Ubaida, a spokesman for the Hamas military wing.
Israeli interior minister Roni Bar-On said the purpose of the attack on Mr Haniyeh's office was to "compromise the Hamas government's ability to rule". He said the military would "continue to strike at [Hamas] institutions. They have to understand that we will not continue to let them run amok."
While defence minister Amir Peretz declared yesterday that Israel intended the Gaza incursion to be as short as possible, officials in the defence establishment for the first time suggested that the kidnapping saga might take time to resolve.
Yuval Diskin, the head of Israel's internal security service, told the cabinet there were no magic solutions and that the showdown in Gaza could drag on for a long time. Army chief Lt Gen Dan Halutz told ministers that military action alone was unlikely to bring about the soldier's release.
Diplomatic efforts aimed at winning Corp Shalit's release have so far proved fruitless. Egyptian mediators, who have been involved from the outset in trying to end the crisis, appeared to be running out of patience. According to Palestinian sources, Hamas militants were told by the Egyptians they had until yesterday to respond to a proposal whereby the soldier would be released in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners in the near future.
Mr Olmert reiterated his position yesterday that he will not bargain with militants holding Corp Shalit. "Surrendering today means inviting more extortion," he said.