The militants inside the Beit Hanoun mosque escaped under cover of a protest by Palestinian women outside, the army said.

One of the protesters was killed by army fire earlier Friday, Palestinian witnesses and hospital officials said.

Troops and militants traded fire overnight at the mosque, with soldiers throwing stun grenades and bulldozers destroying one of the building's outer walls to pressure militants inside to surrender.

Beit Hanoun has been the scene of fierce fighting since Wednesday, when the army began an offensive against Palestinian rocket teams. More than 20 Palestinians have been killed in and around the town, most of them militants.

This poor baby. She knows nothing in life but the walls of her mother's prison cell. She only knows her father from visits, when they were possible. She has never seen a road, a city, grass, trees, a real bed, her own bedroom, a park, a real meal, friends, real toys, etc, etc.

I weep for this girl and pity the father as he is bound to be faced with her first question, "Where's mom?," and her mom, who sleeps tonight, alone.

May all the strength of those in solidarity with us around the world allow Aiysha to grow up without hate in her heart, and may all the Israeli soldiers that stood guard over Aiysha for the past 2-years and remained silent wake up. [Hat tip: Sam]

"Sharon contracted an infection that is affecting his heart and will receive intensive treatment to combat the infection. At this point, his condition is stable," added the hospital, providing no further comment.

The former statesman, who oversaw Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005 following a 38-year occupation of the Palestinian territory, dramatically disappeared from public life after suffering a massive stroke in January.

Friday's statement was the first public update on the 78-year-old Sharon's health since August, when he was removed after yet another spell in intensive care having come down with pneumonia and kidney problems.

Sharon, who was elected premier in early 2001, suffered a massive brain haemorrhage on January 4 and was moved from a Jerusalem hospital in May to Tel Hashomer, a facility on the outskirts of Tel Aviv, for long-term treatment.

His stroke signalled a dramatic end to the career of the former general who had been on course at the time for re-election as head of the brand-new Kadima party he created just two months before collapsing.

Half an hour later, another drone missile was fired at another group of militants in the same area, killing three Palestinian militants and wounded two others, they added.

The latest deaths brought the total number of the Palestinians killed on Thursday to at least nine.

Earlier on Thursday evening, a senior female security officer was killed in the town of Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza Strip by Israeli soldiers' gunfire, said Palestinian security sources.

Mes'eda Hweihi, 40, an officer in the secret intelligence and also a Fatah movement activist, was shot dead as she was trying to help militants who were surrounded by Israeli soldiers into one of the mosques in the town.

On Thursday morning, four Palestinians were killed, three were shot dead by Israeli army snipers, and one 75-year-old man died of fear due to a severe heart attack, said Palestinian medics.

The Israeli army forces stormed early on Wednesday morning the town of Beit Hanoun in a large-scale military operation, the Israeli army had called "the clouds of autumn".

Palestinian security sources said that the Israeli army forces backed by dozens of tanks, bulldozers and armored vehicles covered by helicopters and fighting drones had occupied the whole town.

Palestinian medics said that seven Palestinians were killed on Wednesday, most of them were militants, adding that the death toll since the beginning of the operation hit to 15 killed and more than 100 wounded.

Resident said the Israeli army imposed a curfew on the whole town and ordered every male aged between 16 and 45 to gather into one of the schools in the town.

They added that many of them were interrogated and beaten by the soldiers, while at least 100 people were arrested. "The school turned into a detention camp," said the residents.

The Israeli army said the aim of the operation into northern Gaza Strip is aiming at reining on Palestinian militant groups who are firing homemade rockets round the clock on Israeli communities in southern Israel.

Different militant groups claimed responsibility on Thursday afternoon for launching several homemade rockets at Israel. Three Israelis were injured earlier Thursday by the shrapnel of a homemade rocket fired from Gaza.

U.N. ambassadors and other senior diplomats from China, Greece, India, Jordan, Mexico, and Turkey, as well as consuls general from Austria, Germany and the Philippines, are among the diplomats attending the event.

This year's tour showcases the historic Jewish Museum on Fifth Avenue and the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, home to Conservative Judaism's rabbinical seminary.

"The point is to introduce these world leaders to key institutions that reflect different aspects of Jewish life in New York City and across the country," said Diane Steinman, executive director of AJC's New York chapter.

Dan Rather, former anchor of the CBS Evening News, will present a multimedia retrospective on AJC's use of radio, TV, and film to educate, fight anti-Semitism, further civil rights, and contribute to deepening America's democratic values.

In addition, throughout the day, the group will hear from several speakers, including David Harris, AJC's executive director; Ruth Beesch, deputy director for Program at the Jewish Museum; and several faculty members at JTS.

The program is one of many AJC initiatives focused on international relations. AJC just completed its 17th "diplomatic marathon" in which the group met with leaders of more than 60 countries who were in New York for the start of the U.N. General Assembly.

Of course the mendacious Olmert was being selective with the truth. According to Dr Muawiya Abu Hassanin, director of ambulances and emergencies in the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the Israeli army has been targeting innocent civilians deliberately while Israeli leaders and spokesmen continue to mislead the world by claiming that militants are being killed.

Hassanin said that as many 137 Palestinian children and teenagers under the age of 16 have been killed since June, in addition to 29 women and 12 men above the age of 60. Forty-two of the victims died while inside their homes, destroyed by aerial bombing or artillery bombardment.

Olmert vowed that the occupation army will step up incursions and forays into Gaza Strip's population centres in order to stop the firing across the border of the homemade Qassam projectiles by Palestinian resistance militants. These ineffective "rockets" are seen by many observers as the Palestinians' desperate response to Israel's unceasing and unrelenting campaign of murder and terror against the encircled and starved Gaza Strip.

The real reason for the Israeli incursion, which Israeli leaders, including Olmert himself, make no efforts to conceal, is to topple the Hamas government, and the way to go about doing this from the Israeli perspective is by killing and maiming hundreds and thousands of innocent Palestinian civilians.

Meanwhile, increasing efforts to effect a prisoner swap between Israel and the Palestinians are underway. This week, a delegation representing Hamas arrived in Cairo for talks with Egyptian officials aiming at reaching a deal with Israel. The delegation included Imad Al-Alami, Hamas's representative in Syria and Gaza lawmaker Mushir Al-Masri.

During the past few days, several Palestinian officials, including Prime Minister Ismael Haniya, suggested that a prisoner swap deal with Israel was at hand. However, such optimism may well be unwarranted at this time since two important hurdles are still impeding the conclusion of a deal.

The first hurdle is that Israel is insisting that only "prisoners of their choice" be released. Previously, this meant that Israel would release "apolitical" or "non-political" prisoners and detainees such as workers in Israel without entry permits and petty criminals. This would be viewed as particularly deceitful by all Palestinians. Indeed, it is almost certain that the Hamas delegation will seek to forcefully press the Egyptians on this particular issue. "The Egyptian brothers might be tempted to think that 'a prisoner is a prisoner and it doesn't matter if he is a political leader or a day labourer,' but that is a very crucial issue. What is the point of having a prisoner swap and sacrificing hundreds of Palestinians ... if Israel is not going to free our political and resistance leaders," retorted a high- ranking Hamas official in Hebron.

Another hurdle is that Israel is insisting that the captured soldier, Gilad Shalit, be released before any Palestinian prisoners are freed. In response, Hamas has proposed a simultaneous exchange whereby Shalit and the Palestinian prisoners would be released at the same time under Egyptian auspices. It is almost certain that the Olmert government will reject this proposal which would illustrate reciprocity and give Hamas a moral and psychological victory. According to Hamas sources, Egypt has come up with a bridging proposal in which as many as 1400 Palestinian prisoners would be released in three stages in return for Shalit's freedom.

The settlement of the Shalit affair is important, not only with regard to the Palestinian-Israeli confrontation, but also with regard to the unresolved crisis between Fatah and Hamas concerning the creation of a new government that would presumably lead to the lifting of draconian western sanctions against the Palestinians. These sanctions, coupled with the callous Israeli policy of barring Palestinians from accessing food and work, and of turning Gaza into a huge detention camp by re-taking control of the Rafah border crossing, have created an unprecedented economic, social and political crisis in the occupied territories, pushing millions of Palestinians to the brink of starvation.

The sanctions have also created an implosive situation exacerbated further by the government's inability to pay salaries to civil servants, which ultimately led to bloody clashes between Fatah and Hamas, resulting in the death of more than 20 people.

During the past few days, Hamas have been appealing to PA President Mahmoud Abbas to stop being at America's beck and call and immediately join talks aimed at forming a government of national unity. Hamas has even signalled a willingness to accept a government of technocrats or experts, provided Abbas and his Fatah organisation display goodwill and national responsibility.

A few days prior to Eid Al-Fitr, which marked the end of the holy month of Ramadan, rumours circulated in the West Bank and Gaza that Fatah was planning a coup to topple Hamas immediately following the Eid holiday. Reports to that effect, which first appeared in the Israeli press and were attributed to "unnamed PA officials", were denied by Abbas and his lieutenants. As nothing of this sort materialised, Fatah and Hamas leaders in Gaza agreed to remove all armed men, save the police, from the streets of Gaza.

Nonetheless, there is still a strong feeling on Hamas's part that Abbas is not really interested in any genuine power-sharing arrangement with the movement and that he wishes to topple Hamas by any means possible, as Haniya has suggested.

Last week, Abbas reportedly requested that Israel and the US allow a few thousand members of the Jordan-based "Palestine Liberation Army" to enter Gaza to bolster Fatah's forces against Hamas, which has created its own 6000-strong armed militia, known as the executive force. Israeli leaders are likely to consent to Abbas's request if they consider that the likelihood of the Jordan-based troops battling Hamas is greater than them playing a role detrimental to Israeli interests.

The US, too, seems disinterested in a government of national unity between Fatah and Hamas. In fact, the US has paid more money to train Abbas's Presidential Guard in order to prepare it for a possible violent confrontation with Hamas. Most of the training, which involves some 400 Force-17 cadres, is taking place in the small town of Jericho and overseen by the American Security Coordinator in the occupied territories, General Keith Dayton.

But popular support may stay with Hamas. This week, as many as 60,000 Palestinians turned out in Hebron to pledge their allegiance to Hamas. The vast multitude showed that Hamas is still a strong movement among Palestinians despite the sanctions and despite all the talk about its dwindling popularity. Such a show of force by Hamas may have contributed to Abbas's reluctance to destroy all the bridges with Hamas, at least for the time being.