The captors of an Israeli soldier abducted last week do not want to kill the serviceman despite the expiry of an ultimatum to Israel, one of three groups holding him told AFP on Tuesday.

"Some people thought that the groups that carried out the operation will kill him but our Islamic values tell us that prisoners should be respected and not killed," said Abu Muthanna, a spokesperson for the Islamic Army.

Together with the armed wing of the governing Hamas movement and the Popular Resistance Committees, the group captured 19-year-old Gilad Shalit during an attack on an Israeli army post on the southern Gaza border on June 25.

On Monday, they set a 3am GMT Tuesday deadline for Israel to accept its demands, having previously asked for the release of 1000 Palestinian, Arab and Muslim prisoners, as well as of Palestinian women and juniors held in Israel.

But Israel rejected the ultimatum and pressed on with its military offensive against the Gaza Strip.

AFP