Special report: New violence between Israel, Palestine

    JERUSALEM, June 25 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli army said on Sunday that a missing soldier believed to be kidnapped by Palestinian militants in an earlier attack was still alive.

    "As far as we know, the soldier kidnapped in the strike is still alive," Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Dan Halutz said at a news conference held in Jerusalem on Sunday afternoon.

    "Hamas is involved in the attack from head to foot, literally, "he said, adding that the army would do everything necessary to secure the return of the kidnapped soldier.

    No Palestinian group has claimed responsibility for kidnapping the Israeli soldier.

    Halutz also confirmed that two Israeli soldiers were killed and four others wounded in the predawn attack on an Israeli military post near the Gaza border.

    Three Palestinian militant groups- Hamas' armed wing Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, the leftist People's Resistance Committees (PRC) and the little-known Islamic Army- jointly claimed responsibility for the deadly attack.

    Israeli troops intruded into the Gaza Strip following the attack, searching for the missing soldier and hunting down the Palestinian assailants.

    It is the largest Israeli military ground operation since the Jewish state withdrew forces and settlers from the Gaza Strip last summer after 38 years of presence.

    Hamas, or the Islamic Resistance Movement, is sworn to Israel's destruct.

    The group, which took control of the Palestinian government in March after an election victory, called off a 16-month-old truce with Israel on June 9 when seven Palestinian civilians were killed in a blast on a Gaza beach.

    The Palestinians insist that the seven were killed in an Israeli shelling but Israel denies responsibility.

    Senior Israeli officials have recently threatened to assassinate Hamas officials if Hamas continues its hardline stance and steps up attacks against Israel. Enditem