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Gilad Shalit (born 1986/1987?) is a corporal in the Israel Defense Forces. He comes from Mitzpe Hila in the Lower Galilee, and holds dual Israeli and French citizenship.

Early on Sunday morning, June 25, 2006, Shalit was captured by Palestinian militants. The Palestinians attacked an army post in Israel after crossing the border from Gaza into Israel via a tunnel near the Kerem Shalom crossing at the south Gaza border. During the morning attack, three Israeli Defense Force soldiers were killed and four others wounded, in addition to Shalit. Mohammed Abdel Al, a spokesman for the Popular Resistance Committees, revealed that the Kerem Shalom attack was being planned for almost two months.

The Palestinians issued a statement on Monday, June 26, 2006, offering information about Shalit if Israel agrees to release all female prisoners and all prisoners under the age of 18. The statement came from Izzedine al Qassam Brigades (the military wing of Palestinian governing party Hamas), the Popular Resistance Committees (includes Palestinians from Fatah, Islamic Jihad and Hamas), and the Army of Islam.

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."

Trivia

• Shalit lost an uncle during the Yom Kippur War.

References

1. Yoav Appel et. al., Shalit's dad: 'Hope is all we have left' , Jerusalem Post, 25 June, 2006
2. Gil Hoffman et. al., Ground troops enter Gaza, encounter little resistance, Jerusalem Post, 26 June, 2006
3. Militants issue Israel hostage demands, CNN, 26 June, 2006
4. David Rosenberg, Israeli Army Enters Gaza to Find Kidnapped Soldier (Update2), Bloomberg.com, 28 June, 2006
5. Martin Patience , Israel soldier's family wait for news, BBC News, 26 June, 2006

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