HUNDREDS of Israelis have gathered in Jerusalem to call for the government to step up efforts to free Sergeant Gilad Shalit, a soldier captured by militants in 2006.

HAMAS militants posted an audio message yesterday from an Israeli soldier captured a year ago at an army base near the Gaza Strip, the first sign of life from the young serviceman since he was seized.

Hamas militants today released a recorded message from captured Israeli soldier Cpl. Gilad Shalit, the first sign of life from the young serviceman since he was abducted exactly one year ago.

Hamas militants today released a recorded message from captured Israeli soldier Cpl Gilad Shalit, the first sign of life from the young serviceman since he was abducted exactly one year ago.

The kidnappers of BBC reporter Alan Johnston fear they will be harmed if they release him now that Hamas is in control of Gaza, a senior Hamas official said.

Hamas militants fired a barrage of rockets and mortar shells towards Israel today and said they considered a five-month truce to have ended.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told a powerful parliamentary panel today that the list of prisoners the Palestinians want freed in exchange for a captured Israeli soldier “creates expectations we cannot meet,” a meeting participant said.

The Israeli soldier captured by Palestinian militants last June is still alive, the visiting Egyptian foreign minister, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, said today.

Israel’s Defence Minister Amir Peretz said today he has asked the army to dismantle some of the checkpoints that have severely disrupted Palestinian travel in the West Bank, part of a package of goodwill gestures Israel hopes will boost the moderate Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas.

The Egyptian official negotiating an Israeli-Palestinian prisoner swap plans to deliver to Israel today a Hamas demand that Israel free 1,400 detainees in exchange for a soldier held since June, Palestinian officials said.

British R&B star Jamelia was recovering in hospital today after having an operation on a condition that caused her to collapse during filming for a television show, her manager said.

Israel has accused the Iranian government of paying around £25m (€37.3m) to Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal to block a deal that would have freed an Israeli soldier captured by Hamas-linked militants who crossed from Gaza into Israel on June 25.

A 14-year-old girl was killed today in an Israeli airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip.

Hamas officials today gave Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas the go-ahead for negotiations with Israel, a major shift in the militant Islamic group’s position toward the Jewish state as it worked to end its international isolation.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert today denied knowledge of an impending deal to swap Palestinian prisoners for an Israeli soldier held by Palestinian militants for the past two months.

A Palestinian politician and a spokesman for the Hamas military wing today denied a report that the release of a captured Israeli soldier in the Gaza Strip could be imminent.

The father of an Israeli soldier snatched by Lebanese guerrillas today appealed to the captors to make their demands known so he can at least be assured his son is alive.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas today said Israel’s incursion into Lebanon had raised the spectre of a large-scale Middle East war and urged world powers to intervene “to stop this serious deterioration”.

Syria’s vice president today blamed Israel for the escalating violence in Lebanon and Palestinian territories, and Arab countries worried over possible Israeli retaliation against Syria after the capture of two Israeli soldiers by its ally, Hezbollah.

Israeli leaders approved new incursions into the Gaza Strip, security officials said today, after the Hamas leader said he would not free an Israeli soldier whose capture by Palestinian militants led to a bloody 13-day confrontation.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said today that freeing Palestinian prisoners in exchange for a captured Israeli soldier would be a “major mistake”.

Israel sent aircraft to hit targets in the Gaza Strip early today, pressing ahead with its offensive aimed at freeing a captured soldier and halting Palestinian rocket fire, despite international criticism.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas today said he is making an all-out effort to win the release of an Israeli soldier held by Hamas-allied militants, but also called on Israel to free thousands of Palestinian prisoners.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert today ignored a deadline to free Palestinian prisoners and instead ordered the army to target ”terrorists” and their backers, in an apparent threat against Syria.

Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert today ignored a deadline to begin releasing Palestinian prisoners and instead issued a veiled threat against Syria, vowing to strike “those who sponsor” the militants in the Gaza Strip who seized a young Israeli soldier.

The European Union today urged Israel to free Hamas officials, including eight Cabinet ministers and 26 politicians, and show restraint in its military campaign to force Palestinian militants to free a kidnapped Israeli soldier.

Palestinian militants today gave Israel 24 hours to start releasing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, implying they will kill an abducted Israeli soldier tomorrow morning if their demands are not met.

A senior Israeli Cabinet minister today warned of a harsh military response in the Gaza Strip if an abducted Israeli is harmed by his Palestinian captors.

Signalling a reverse in the government’s position today, Israel’s military chief of staff did not rule out negotiations to secure the release of a soldier held by Palestinian militants.

Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert stepped up pressure on the Palestinian government, ordering his military to “do all it can” to free an abducted soldier and hinting Israel may arrest Hamas leaders in Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert stepped up pressure on the Palestinian government today, ordering his military to “do all it can” to free an abducted soldier and hinting Israel may arrest Hamas leaders in Gaza.

The soldier whose abduction sparked Israel’s invasion of Gaza is alive and in stable condition, a Palestinian official said today, as President Mahmoud Abbas warned that the coming hours were “critical, sensitive and serious” to resolving the crisis.

In a direct message to Hamas’ interior minister in Gaza, Israeli jet fighters destroyed his office early today, intensifying an air invasion while delaying a broad ground offensive to give Arab mediators a last chance to gain the release of a kidnapped soldier.

Israeli aircraft struck northern and southern Gaza today as thousands of troops, backed by warplanes and tanks, forged into the coastal strip in an operation meant to pummel Palestinian militants into releasing an Israeli soldier.

Palestinians dug in behind walls and and embankments in the southern Gaza Strip today after Israel sent in troops and tanks.

A Palestinian militant leader today said a captured Israeli soldier was being held in a “secure place,” and he claimed that his group also seized a Jewish settler in the West Bank.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert today ruled out negotiations with the Palestinian captors of an Israeli soldier, promising a “broad and ongoing” military offensive in the Gaza Strip.