Israeli forces pounded northern Gaza early Friday, with artillery and airstrikes as they press ahead with a search for the Israeli soldier kidnapped by Palestinian militants.

Israel's ground forces remain in southern Gaza and are continuing to shell targets in northern Gaza, but further incursions into northern Gaza have been put on hold.

The third day of the Israeli campaign in Gaza follows Israel's arrests of dozens of Palestinian officials and heavy shelling of the territory Thursday.

Israel also announced Friday that it was revoking the Jerusalem residency rights of four arrested Hamas officials.

The attacks and arrests came as the body of a kidnapped Jewish settler Eliyahu Asheri, 18, was found in the West Bank. The group claiming to have killed him, the Popular Resistance Committees, threatened more abductions and killings.

Israeli warplanes hit the Palestinian Authority's Interior Ministry building in Gaza City early Friday. The Israeli military said the building was being used "for directing and planning terror activities."

No casualties were reported after the strike, which left the building ablaze.