Israel continues to hold off on a major military operation in the northern Gaza Strip in the hopes that negotiations can lead to the release of the 19-year-old soldier being held hostage by Palestinian militants.
Israeli troops continued their operations in southern Gaza. Israeli warplanes hit the Palestinian Authority's Interior Ministry in Gaza City because the Israel Defense Forces explained it was being used 'for directing and planning terror activities.'
No casualties were reported in the strike against the Interior Ministry although the building was set ablaze by the attack.
Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas has accused Israel of having a 'premeditated plan' to eliminate the Hamas-led government. Groups affiliated with Hamas have been responsible for the abduction of the Israeli hostage and rocket fire into Israel from the Gaza Strip.
Haniyeh claimed that Israel's military operation was complicating efforts to free Corporal Galid Shalit who is being held by militants somewhere in the Gaza Strip. One 18-year-old Israeli settler was already killed by Palestinian militants earlier this week.
According to Egyptian President Hosnai Mubarak, Hams had agreed to return Shalit in exchange for the release of a large number of Palestinian prisoners. Mubarak said Israel would not agree to those terms. Officials from Egypt and Qatar have been working to assist in negotiations.
Israel has been targeting the infrastructure of terrorist organizations including training camps for Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. Weapons depots have also been the target of Israeli strikes.
The White House has praised Israel's restraint and the fact that civilian casualties have been kept to a bare minimum. 'We want the Israelis to practice restraint, and the Palestinians to hand over the soldier,' explained White House press secretary Tony Snow on Friday morning.
The search for the missing Israeli hostage continues.
