GAZA CITY, July 3: Palestinian militants holding an Israeli soldier captive issued an ultimatum on Monday for Israel to free prisoners or face the consequences as the army kept up its military assault on the Gaza Strip. The Tuesday deadline was immediately rejected by Israel, which vowed to keep up its military incursion in Gaza after a sixth straight night of air attacks launched in a bid to pressure the Palestinians into giving up the serviceman.

“Faced with the Zionist enemy’s persistence in taking military measures and aggressions, we give it a delay expiring on Tuesday, July 4, at 6am (0300 GMT),” warned the three groups that seized the conscript in an attack on an army post eight days ago.

“If the enemy does not meet the demands we laid out in our previous statement... we will consider the matter closed and the enemy will be responsible for all results,” said a statement from the Popular Resistance Committees, the armed wing of the ruling Hamas movement and the Army of Islam.

Israel, which has massed 5,000 troops on the Gaza border, swiftly rejected the ultimatum and militant demands for the release of 1,000 prisoners as well as Palestinian women and minors held in Israel.

“We will not conduct any negotiations on the release of prisoners,” Mr Olmert’s office said, holding the Palestinian Authority responsible for the safety of 19-year-old corporal Gilad Shalit.

“Israel will not give in to extortion by the Palestinian Authority and the Hamas government, which are led by murderous terrorist organisations.”

Mr Olmert also gave the green light to keep up military operations, after consulting defence officials.

While Israeli officials warned the crisis could last months, the Hamas-led cabinet appealed to the captors to spare Gilad Shalit’s life and expressed hope a political solution could still be found.

Syria, which has come under fire from Israel and the United States for sheltering exiled Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal, condemned “Israel’s aggressive stand and its unjust accusations against (Palestinian) national forces”.

Israeli warplanes last week buzzed one President Bashar al-Assad’s palaces amid repeated threats that Israel could attempt to kill exiled Hamas leaders in Syria.

On the ground, Israeli troops shot dead a militant from the armed wing of Hamas as forces rolled into the Beit Hanun area of northern Gaza.

The latest salvos in the escalating Middle East crisis followed threats by the armed wing of Hamas — boycotted as a terrorist group in the West — that it would strike civilians in Israel and threatening a “sea of blood” if the Gaza offensive were not halted.

“No one can take this sort of ultimatum and accept it. This is blackmail,” foreign ministry spokesman Mark Regev told CNN. “It is important to send a clear message to terrorists that if they take hostages there will be nothing in it for them.”

Israel launched its massive military operation in response to the abduction of Shalit in a raid on June 25, warning it would use all its military might to secure his release.

The international community has issued urgent appeals for restraint to stop the potential spreading of the conflict, the worst crisis in the Middle East since Hamas came to power and Olmert took the helm in Israel earlier this year.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, whose country is a member of a Middle East diplomatic quartet and recently hosted a visit by Hamas leaders, said Moscow was ‘using all channels available to us’ to try to free the soldier.

British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett asked Israel to ‘show restraint and not act in ways which are disproportionate’.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who has been involved in mediation efforts that have so far been in vain, also flew to Saudi Arabia to discuss the crisis with King Abdullah.

The Saudi information minister condemned Israel’s offensive in Gaza as “collective punishment” against the Palestinians “which will only lead to heightened violence.”—AFP