Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has instructed Israel Defense Forces (IDF) commanders to prepare for a prolonged and extensive military operation after a soldier was kidnapped by Palestinian militants, local media reported on Monday.

Olmert said that he had given the military commanders instructions to deploy forces so that they were ready for a prolonged and extensive operation against Palestinian militants and their chiefs.

There will be no immunity for anyone who was holding the abducted soldier, Olmert said in a speech at a business conference in Jerusalem.

The prime minister also said that he held the entire Palestinian leadership responsible for the safety of the soldier, Cpl. Gilad Shalit.

Shalit was seized in a cross-border raid early Sunday, which also killed two Israeli soldiers and wounded four others. Eight Palestinian gunmen from three armed groups including Hamas' armed wing mounted a coordinated attack on an Israeli army post near the Kerem Shalom crossing on Gaza-Israel border early Sunday.

In the wake of the attack, Israeli troops and tanks, banked by a helicopter, entered into the Gaza Strip to manhunt the Palestinian gunmen.

It was the largest incursion since Israel pulled out soldiers and settlers from the strip last summer after a 38-year presence. Israeli Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Dan Halutz pledged Sunday afternoon that the army would do everything necessary to secure return of Shalit.

Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz on Sunday threatened to retaliate for the attack, warning that Israel would seek revenge against anyone who injured the missing soldier.

(Xinhua News Agency June 27, 2006)