Noteworthy Headlines

IDF tanks ready at the Entrance to Gaza.

IDF tanks and troops rolled into southern Gaza before dawn Wednesday, encountering little resistance from Palestinians, in a bid to pressure Palestinian militants into releasing an Israel Defense Forces soldier seized Sunday in an attack on a military position near the Gaza border.

The operation, dubbed "Summer Rain," was launched after two days of failed mediation over the release of Shalit. Defense sources told Army Radio on Wednesday morning that the Gaza incursion is the first stage of the operation.

IDF troops penetrated one kilometer into the southern Strip, deploying tanks and armored vehicles in open areas east of the border town of Rafah, including the disused international airport at Dahaniyeh, Gaza's only airport.

According to information gleaned by the Palestinian Authority, Shalit is being held in the Khan Yunis refugee camp in southern Gaza. His captors may be considering moving him elsewhere, possibly to the Jabalya refugee camp, on the outskirts of Gaza City in the northern Strip.

IAF aircrafts also attacked a Gaza City power station after midnight Tuesday, cutting power to much of the area, Palestinian security officials said.

Gaza's Electric Power Station in flames after direct hits by IAF Missiles.

Kidnapped Yeshiva student Eliyahu Pinchas Asheri