Deadline Palestinian militants set passes

A Palestinian policeman walks past the rubble of a small building following an Israeli missile strike at the Islamic University in Gaza City, Tuesday, July 4, 2006. Israeli aircraft hit the student council building at the Islamic University in Gaza City, witnesses said, badly damaging it. No one was hurt. The university is a Hamas stronghold. The military said it hit a 'compound used by terror groups for instructing and directing terrorists.' (AP Photo/Hatem Moussa)

July 4, 2006

By RAVI NESSMAN, Associated Press Writer

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - The spokesman for one of the Hamas-linked groups holding an Israeli soldier said Tuesday that because Israel ignored a deadline to release Palestinian prisoners, the militants won't release any information about the soldier.

The spokesman, Abu Muthana, would not say whether the soldier is dead or alive.

"We will not give any information that will give the occupation good news or reassurance," he told The Associated Press.

The militants had set a 6 a.m. deadline for Israel to begin freeing the prisoners, implying they would kill him if their demands were not met.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert rejected any negotiations with the militants, and the army pressed ahead with its Gaza offensive. Privately, though, some officials said the government had not ruled out any options to win Shalit's freedom.