GAZA STRIP - The Israeli military says one of its soldiers has been captured by Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip, where a temporary cease-fire collapsed just hours after it began Friday.

The presumed abduction occurred in the southern city of Rafah at about 9:30 a.m. local time, 90 minutes after the humanitarian truce between Israel and Hamas took effect. Israel Defense Forces identified the missing soldier as 2nd Lt. Hadar Goldin, 23. His condition was unknown.

Goldin reportedly was taken, and two other Israeli troops were killed, during an operation to find and destroy one of the Hamas tunnels used to infiltrate Israel. The Israeli military said a firefight with militants broke out, with a suicide bombing adding to the mayhem. Several Palestinians also were killed.

Shortly after the attack, the Israeli military resumed shelling the southern Gaza Strip, where local officials say at least 50 Palestinians were killed. Militants also resumed firing rockets into southern Israel.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office released a statement blaming Gaza militants for "flagrantly" violating what was supposed to be a three-day cease-fire, though it did not elaborate. Israeli media later reported that the military had resumed its offensive operations in Gaza.

The Israeli military said the cease-fire officially is over.
The United Nations special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, Robert Serry, said in a statement that if reports of the tunnel attack are corroborated, "this would constitute a serious violation of the humanitarian cease-fire ... by Gazan militant factions, which should be condemned in the strongest terms."

White House spokesman Josh Earnest, appearing on CNN, said the missing Israeli soldier "should be returned immediately." He also said the Obama administration condemned violation of the humanitarian cease-fire and urged "regional partners that have influence over the military wing of Hamas" to pressure the organization to end the fighting.

"All sides were transparent about what the agreement was," Earnest said of the cease-fire. "Certainly, Hamas is responsible for upholding [its] end of the bargain."

Positions hardened
VOA correspondent Scott Bobb, who is in Gaza, said both sides are hardening their positions and there is no end in sight to the fighting.

"Hamas continues to insist on a complete end to the [economic] blockade before it will consider a formal, official cease-fire," he said. "And Israel insists on the demilitarization of Gaza before it will consider lifting any blockade. So at the moment, there is no cease-fire."
Israeli and Palestinian delegations had been expected to head to Cairo for talks on underlying disputes between Israel and Hamas. U.S. officials are also joining the negotiations. The French news agency AFP was reporting that Egyptian diplomats said the talks have been postponed.
Nearly four weeks of fighting has killed over 1,400 Palestinians, mostly civilians. Three Israeli civilians and 61 soldiers have also died.

Israeli leaders want the demilitarization of Hamas, which has sent thousands of rockets into Israeli territory in recent weeks. The Islamist group wants an end to the Israeli-led blockade that has strangled Gaza's economy and prevented Gazans from traveling.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday had cautioned that the truce was not permanent, calling it a "moment of opportunity" He said the people of Gaza deserve to live in safety and dignity, while Israel's security concerns need to be met.

Violence before truce
In the hours before the cease-fire took effect Friday, Gaza police reported heavy Israeli tank shelling in northern and eastern Gaza, and the loud exchange of fire between Israeli troops and militants was audible throughout Gaza City. Tank shells landed on homes in the city, setting homes and shops ablaze.

Hamas fighters hit an Israeli tank with an anti-tank missile, Gaza police said, and then attacked Israeli troops who came to evacuate the tank crew. Clashes continued into the early morning hours, police said.

Just after the truce began, Bobb saw "small traffic jams in the city as people rush out to buy supplies and visit the homes they abandoned days or weeks ago."

At a depot selling cooking gas, "literally hundreds of canisters [were] lined up waiting to be filled," he said. This was the first depot to reopen. Others, located to the east near the conflict zone, are considered too dangerous to reopen.

Bobb said some stores and restaurants had reopened. "People are out in the streets today," he reported. "For the first time, I saw children playing in the ocean, on the beach.
"And fishermen have gone out, although they stay within about a hundred meters off-shore," after 3 1/2 weeks without work, Bobb said. (Source: voanews.com)

Story Date: August 1, 2014