Israel steps up its offensive opening a second front in northern Gaza and detains 64 Hamas members on Thursday in a bid to pressurise Palestinian militants to release a kidnapped soldier.
As Israeli tanks and troops continue to move into Southern Gaza, a Palestinian security officer said he saw numerous Israeli tanks being deployed in the North before dawn.
However, an Israeli military spokeswoman disputed the comment, saying that no ground operations had been given the go ahead in the area.
According to the BBC, Palestinian witnesses said Israeli tanks had crossed the border into Gaza near the town of Beit Hanoun.
Meanwhile, reports say that hundreds of gunmen carrying automatic rifles and anti-tank weapons took up positions waiting for Israeli forces to open a second front in northern Gaza.
In a raid last night, Israeli security sources said 64 Hamas officials were arrested, including eight cabinet ministers and various legislators of the governing Islamist group in operations across the West Bank.
Israel Radio said Deputy Prime Minister Naser Al Shaer was among them.
An army spokeswoman said, "They are not bargaining chips for the return of the soldier. It was simply an operation against a terrorist organization."
A spokesman for Hamas's Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, Abu Ubaida, said the capturing of the Hamas leaders was an attempt by Israel to blackmail the group into releasing information about Shalit, which would not work.
