Israel arrests Hamas leaders

Israel arrested dozens of Hamas cabinet ministers and lawmakers yesterday in a move the Islamic group said aimed to topple its government, as the army pressed on with a Gaza offensive to free an abducted soldier.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and other Group of Eight foreign ministers said in a joint statement that the arrests in the occupied West Bank raised "particular concerns". They called on Israeli forces in Gaza to show restraint.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas asked the United Nations to intervene to secure the immediate release of the Hamas officials arrested by Israel, Alvaro de Soto, the UN special envoy for the Middle East peace process, said.

Hundreds of Palestinian gunmen wielding automatic rifles and anti-tank weapons took up positions waiting for Israeli forces to open a second front in the northern Gaza Strip, a day after tanks and infantry pushed into the south of the territory.

"We will confront the occupation by all means, even if it costs us our necks," senior Islamic Jihad leader Khaled al-Batsh told reporters in Gaza.

The Popular Resistance Committees (PRC), one of the militant groups believed to be responsible for the abduction of Corporal Gilad Shalit, issued a statement taunting Israel, vowing not to provide information about whether the soldier was alive or dead.

Israeli Defence Minister Amir Peretz said Israel would step up pressure against militants in Gaza to secure the release of the soldier and stop rocket fire from the area.

"The army is ready for a severe and extensive operation against the terror organisations in Gaza," he said at a military ceremony. "If the soldier is returned and (rocket fire) is halted unconditionally, our troops will pull back."