Israel steps up bid to free hostage soldier

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.

Olmert’s threat, just hours after an Israeli air strike blasted the Palestinian prime minister’s office yesterday, signalled that the government was losing patience with diplomatic efforts to end the crisis and was planning to escalate its military offensive.