Monday's UN-mandated ceasefire between Israeli troops and Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon does not apply to Gaza.

Israel waded into Gaza in earnest after the cross-border abduction of one of its soldiers on June 25. The military wing of Hamas claimed responsibility for the raid.

However, Wiig's wife Anita McNaught said Fox representatives had told her negotiations for their release were already under way.

"There will be people working through the Palestinian Authority, through the authorities in Gaza ... but Fox News are vastly experienced on the ground there, so they have all the contacts they need," said McNaught, who is a BBC World television presenter.

McNaught, who is currently in Syria, told New Zealand's National Radio she intends to come to the area soon to help secure the release of the two men.

Also, New Zealand was sending a diplomatic team to the area, said Rosie Patterson, head of consular services at New Zealand's Foreign Ministry. New Zealand has no representation in the immediate area, and currently is working through British diplomats, she said.

The government was "very concerned" for the safety of Wiig, Prime Minister Helen Clark said in brief comments in New Zealand.

Security officials put police across Gaza on alert and set up roadblocks to find the gunmen and free the reporters, said Interior Ministry spokesman Khaled Abu Hilal.

The Committee to Protect Journalists called for the men to be freed.

"We are gravely concerned about our colleagues' safety and call for their immediate and unconditional release," said executive director Joel Simon. "These are well established journalists who are not participants in the conflict. They should be treated accordingly and freed."

Several foreigners have been kidnapped in Gaza in recent months with their abductors demanding jobs from the Palestinian Authority or the release of people being held in Palestinian jails. All those kidnapped have been released within hours without harm.

Here is Jennifer Griffin's 10pm update: "Greta, as you know, we have been reporting today that two of our colleagues were kidnapped in Gaza earlier today. They were taken against their will from the vehicle they were driving in. Fox News at this time is doing everything within its power to get them safely returned back home and we will report more on that as we have details."

Fox News Channel is carefully and wisely limiting coverage of its two kidnapped employees. Since 2pm, when TVNewser started monitoring FNC coverage, the net has aired four brief updates about the kidnapping by Jennifer Griffin. Apart from those, FNC hasn't mentioned the situation, preferring to handle it behind the scenes. When Nihad Awad of the Council on American Islamic Relations prefaced his appearance on The O'Reilly Factor with an expression of sympathy, Bill O'Reilly quickly responded:

AWAD: Bill, thanks for having me and allow me first to share with you and your viewers that our organization CAIR has issued a statement demanding the release of the Fox crew who were abducted or kidnapped today in Gaza and we pray and hope for their safe return to do their job back to their families.

O'REILLY: I just meant to tell everybody we are not going to have much more on that because we are, you know, in the process of trying to get that solved.

As Jack Shafer noted in January, "it's an article of faith for some that no news is the best news when it comes to kidnappings."

Sharon has been in a coma since his stroke on Jan. 4. He is currently in the Chaim Sheba Medical Center, a long-term care facility. His doctors have said the chances of the former leader coming out of his coma are very slim.