2 From Fox News Abducted in Gaza

A Fox News correspondent and his cameraman were kidnapped Monday in the Gaza Strip by Palestinian gunmen who ambushed their vehicle, a spokeswoman for the cable news network said.

Correspondent Steve Centanni, 60, based in Washington, and freelance cameraman Olaf Wiig, 36, a New Zealand native, were in a parked television transmission van in the center of Gaza City when two vehicles reportedly blocked the van.

Witnesses said a masked man held a gun to the Fox News crew’s bodyguard, forcing him to the ground, and kidnapped Centanni and Wiig, as well as their interpreter, who was later released.

Centanni did a live report earlier Monday from Gaza City about continuing violence between the Israeli military and Palestinian militants.

Fox News declined to comment on the abduction, but the network’s Jerusalem-based correspondent, Jennifer Griffin, provided updates to viewers throughout the day.

In an e-mail to the Fox newsroom, John Moody, the network’s senior vice president for news editorial, said: “Do pray for their release. I will keep you posted.”

Centanni, who has worked at Fox News since its inception in 1996, has been in the Middle East covering the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for the last three weeks.

Wiig has worked for the network occasionally. The New Zealand Herald reported on its website that the cameraman had been planning to return to his home in London this week.