Israel Moves Into Northern Gaza

Tanks, Soldiers Sent In Effort To Step Up Military Offensive

(CBS/AP)  Israel expanded its military operation in Gaza early Thursday, sending in tanks and troops to pressure Hamas militants firing rockets into southern Israel and holding a soldier captive.

Israeli officials insisted Wednesday that they had confirmed reports that that the captured soldier, Cpl. Gilad Shalit, 19, was still alive and there were also indications from international mediators that those holding him may now be prepared to moderate their position and do some serious talking, reports CBS News correspondent Sheila MacVicar.

The move came after the government on Wednesday authorized the army to enter populated areas in northern Gaza. The decision by the Security Cabinet to step up a ground offensive indicated Israel may be prepared to partially reoccupy Gaza less than a year after withdrawing all troops and settlements from the area.

Before daybreak, troops and about 15 tanks entered an area of northern Gaza just across the border where three Jewish settlements stood before Israel's September pullout from the coastal strip, according to an Associated Press reporter who saw the troop movements. The settlements were destroyed just after the pullout.

The new line stretched across most of the narrow northern part of Gaza. The military would say only that its forces were operating in northern Gaza.

As the ground forces edged forward, Israeli artillery and aircraft struck targets in the area, aiming at bases and groups of militants. Hamas officials said one militant was killed and another wounded in an airstrike on the Gaza beach early Thursday. The military said aircraft hit an armed militant.

In another incident, two people, a Hamas militant and a Palestinian policeman, were killed and 11 others wounded in an explosion on the northern Gaza beach. Palestinians said Israeli tanks or gunboats shelled the area. Israel denied that, but the military was checking whether there was an airstrike.

A car carrying reporters from the Al-Jazeera Arabic television channel came under fire from Palestinians in northern Gaza, and two were wounded, according to one of the reporters, Wael Dahdouh. He said the gunmen apparently thought the reporters were Israeli undercover agents.

Meanwhile, Israeli forces remained in southern Gaza, where they invaded after a June 25 attack by Palestinian militants on a border post in which two Israeli soldiers were killed and a third captured.

Israel said a main goal of the military operation in Gaza continues to be winning freedom for Shalit, who is 19. Israel says Hamas declared war when it kidnapped the Israeli soldier 10 days ago, reports CBS News correspondent Robert Berger.

Thousands of Israeli troops and armored vehicles were poised on the Israel-Gaza border, prepared to clear out a buffer zone in northern Gaza to push the militants and rocket launchers back.