Gilad Shalit
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Gilad Shalit (Hebrew: , born 28 August 1986) is a corporal in the Israel Defense Forces. He comes from Mitzpe Hila in the Western Galilee, and holds dual Israeli and French citizenship.Yoav Appel et. al., ["Shalit's dad: 'Hope is all we have left'"], Jerusalem Post, 25 June, 2006 Gilad is the first Israeli soldier captured by Palestinians since Nachson Wachsman in 1994.["Israeli forces enter 'north Gaza,"], BBC, 29 June, 2006
Early on Sunday morning, June 25, 2006, Shalit was captured by Palestinian militants who attacked an army post in Israel after crossing the border from the Gaza Strip into Israel via a tunnel near the Kerem Shalom crossing at the south Gaza Strip border. During the morning attack, two Israel Defense Force soldiers were killed and four others wounded, in addition to Shalit, who suffered a broken left hand and a light shoulder wound.Gil Hoffman et. al., ["Shalit's health better than first feared"], Jerusalem Post, 29 June, 2006 Mohammed Abdel Al, a spokesman for the Popular Resistance Committees, revealed that the Kerem Shalom attack was being planned for almost two months.
Shalit's captors issued a statement on Monday, June 26, 2006, offering information about Shalit if Israel agrees to release all female Palestinian prisoners and all Palestinian prisoners under the age of 18.["Militants issue Israel hostage demands"], CNN, 26 June, 2006 The statement came from Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades (the military wing of Palestinian governing party Hamas), the Popular Resistance Committees (which includes members of Fatah, Islamic Jihad and Hamas), and the Army of Islam.
On the 1st of July, the Palestinians issued another demand to the Israelis, asking them to free 1,000 Palestinian prisoners (in addition to all women and young prisoners) and end its Gaza assault. ["FACTBOX-The crisis over Israel's captured soldier"], Reuters, 2 July, 2006 Two days later, they issued a 24-hour ultimatum for meeting their demands, threatening unspecified consequences if it refused. ["Palestinian militants issue ultimatum to Israel"], Reuters, 3 July, 2006 A few hours later, however, Israel officially rejected the ultimatum, stating: "there will be no negotiations to release prisoners."
Rescue attempt
Israeli forces entered Khan Yunis on June 28, 2006 to search for Shalit. According to David Siegel, a spokesman at the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C., "Israel did everything it could in exhausting all diplomatic options and gave Mahmoud Abbas the opportunity to return the kidnapped Israeli... This operation can be terminated immediately, conditioned on the release of Gilad Shalit".David Rosenberg, ["Israeli Army Enters Gaza to Find Kidnapped Soldier (Update2)"], Bloomberg.com, 28 June, 2006
On June 29, commander of the Israeli Southern Command, Aluf Yoav Galant, confirmed that Shalit remains in Gaza. Israel's Minister of Justice, Haim Ramon, added that Shalit is being held in southern Gaza, specifically. The military correspondent for the Israel Broadcasting Authority, has claimed that Shalit is currently being held captive in Rafah, and that there is indication that he is alive. IDF Spokesperson, Brigadier-General Miri Regev, stated that "we are not convinced he is being held in southern Gaza ... [only] that he is being held in Gaza"."Today in the News," Israel Broadcasting Authority, 29 June, 2006
On 1 July, the BBC reported that Shalit may have received medical attention, possibly for stomach and shoulder wounds. This has been subsequently denied by other Palestinians. Israeli authorities have also threatened that the "sky will fall" if Shalit is harmed.
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