Gilad Shalit

Gilad Shalit ( , Gilˁad Šaliṭ born 28 August 1986) is an Israeli sports columnist and a former MIA soldier of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). On 25 June 2006, Shalit was captured by Hamas militants in a cross-border raid via underground tunnels near the Israeli border. Hamas held him captive for over five years, until his release on 18 October 2011 as part of a prisoner exchange deal . During his captivity, Hamas turned down requests from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to be allowed to visit Shalit, claiming that any such visit could betray his location. Multiple human rights organizations criticized this stance, claiming that the conditions of Shalit's confinement were contrary to international humanitarian law . The Red Cross insisted, "The Shalit family have the right under international humanitarian law to be in contact with their son". The only communication in the early months came through an intermediary, who claimed that a low-ranking Hamas official, Ghazi Hamad, asked him to convey to Shalit's parents assurance that Shalit was "alive and was treated according to Islam's laws regarding prisoners of war , in other words, he had been given shelter, food and medical care." The United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict called for Shalit's release in its September 2009 report. Shalit's capture has been deemed a kidnapping and abduction by many sources. He was not granted any visits from the Red Cross and was not allowed to communicate with family members (to which he is entitled as a captured soldier under the Geneva Conventions ), and a ransom , even if not of a monetary nature, was demanded for his return. The only contact between Shalit and the outside world after his capture and before his release were three letters, an audio tape, and a DVD that Israel received in return for releasing 20 female Palestinian prisoners. Shalit was captured near the Kerem Shalom crossing in Israel, and held by Hamas as a hostage at an unknown location in the Gaza Strip . Hamas' initial demands of releasing of all female and underage Palestinians as well as Marwan Barghouti were not met. On 18 October 2011, he was released in a deal that secured his freedom after more than five years in isolation and captivity, in exchange for 1,027 Palestinian prisoners, including some convicted of multiple murders and carrying out attacks against Israeli civilians (according to Israeli government sources, the prisoners released were collectively responsible for 569 Israeli deaths ). Shalit was the first Israeli soldier captured by Palestinian militants since Nachshon Wachsman in 1994. Shalit, having a rank of Corporal in the IDF's Armor Corps at the time of his capture, was promoted to Staff Sergeant, Sergeant First Class, and then Sergeant Major on the eve of his release. The Jerusalem Post . 23 June 2011 . The White House (Press release). 27 May 2011 . " Analysis: The "Palestinian Nelson Mandela " . Army Radio newscast, 20 October 2011 Haaretz , 20 October 2011 [1] – Haaretz , [2] – UPI – "[K]idnapped soldier Gilad Shalit" "In Shalit deal, Israel did cross its own red lines." Haaretz , 14 October 2011. BBC. 29 June 2006. – Cpl Gilad Shalit, 19: First Israeli soldier abducted by Palestinians since 1994 – Amnesty International, the human rights group, called for all hostages to be released [...].

Israeli writer Gilad Shalit ( , Gilˁad Šaliṭ , born 28 August 1986) is a former MIA soldier of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) who on 25 June 2006, was captured by Hamas militants in a cross-border raid via tunnels near the Israeli border. Hamas held him captive for over five years, until his release on 18 October 2011 as part of a prisoner exchange deal . During his captivity, Hamas turned down requests from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to be allowed to visit Shalit, claiming that any such visit could betray his location. Multiple human rights organizations criticized this stance, claiming that the conditions of Shalit's confinement were contrary to international humanitarian law . The Red Cross stated, "The Shalit family have the right under international humanitarian law to be in contact with their son". The only communication in the early months came through an intermediary, who claimed that a low-ranking Hamas official, Ghazi Hamad, asked him to convey to Shalit's parents assurance that Shalit was "alive and was treated according to Islam's laws regarding prisoners of war , in other words, he had been given shelter, food and medical care." The United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict called for Shalit's release in its September 2009 report. Shalit's capture has been deemed a kidnapping and abduction by many sources. He was not granted any visits from the Red Cross and was not allowed to communicate with family members (to which he is entitled as a captured soldier under the Geneva Conventions ), and a ransom , even if not of a monetary nature, was demanded for his return. The only contact between Shalit and the outside world after his capture and before his release were three letters, an audio tape, and a DVD that Israel received in return for releasing 20 female Palestinian prisoners. Shalit was captured near the Kerem Shalom crossing in Israel, and held by Hamas as a hostage at an unknown location in the Gaza Strip . Hamas' initial demands of releasing of all female and underage Palestinians as well as Marwan Barghouti were not met. On 18 October 2011, he was released in a deal that secured his freedom after more than five years in isolation and captivity, in exchange for 1,027 Palestinian prisoners, including some convicted of multiple murders and carrying out attacks against Israeli civilians (according to Israeli government sources, the prisoners released were collectively responsible for 569 Israeli deaths ). Shalit was the first Israeli soldier captured by Palestinian militants since Nachshon Wachsman in 1994. Shalit, having a rank of Corporal in the IDF's Armor Corps at the time of his capture, was promoted to Staff Sergeant, Sergeant First Class, and then Sergeant Major on the eve of his release. The White House (Press release). 27 May 2011. " Analysis: The "Palestinian Nelson Mandela " . Army Radio newscast, 20 October 2011 "חוטפי שליט: הוא לא עונה, זכה לטיפול רפואי וצפה בטלוויזיה" . הארץ .

Israeli soldier (born 1986) Gilad Shalit ( , Gilˁad Šaliṭ , born 28 August 1986) is a former MIA soldier of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) who on 25 June 2006, was captured by Palestinian militants in a cross-border raid via tunnels near the Israeli border. Hamas held him captive for over five years, until his release on 18 October 2011 as part of a prisoner exchange deal . During his captivity, Hamas turned down requests from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to be allowed to visit Shalit, claiming that any such visit could betray his location. Multiple human rights organizations criticized this stance, claiming that the conditions of Shalit's confinement were contrary to international humanitarian law . The Red Cross stated, "The Shalit family have the right under international humanitarian law to be in contact with their son". The only communication in the early months came through an intermediary, who claimed that a low-ranking Hamas official, Ghazi Hamad, asked him to convey to Shalit's parents assurance that Shalit was "alive and was treated according to Islam's laws regarding prisoners of war , in other words, he had been given shelter, food and medical care." The United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict called for Shalit's release in its September 2009 report. Shalit's capture has been deemed a kidnapping and abduction by many sources. He was not granted any visits from the Red Cross and was not allowed to communicate with family members (to which he is entitled as a captured soldier under the Geneva Conventions ), and a ransom , even if not of a monetary nature, was demanded for his return. The only contact between Shalit and the outside world after his capture and before his release were three letters, an audio tape, and a DVD that Israel received in return for releasing 20 female Palestinian prisoners. Shalit was captured near the Kerem Shalom crossing in Israel, and held by Hamas at an unknown location in the Gaza Strip . Hamas' initial demands of releasing of all female and underage Palestinians as well as Marwan Barghouti were not met. On 18 October 2011, he was released in a deal that secured his freedom after more than five years in isolation and captivity, in exchange for 1,027 Palestinian prisoners, including some convicted of multiple murders and carrying out attacks against Israeli civilians (according to Israeli government sources, the prisoners released were collectively responsible for 569 Israeli deaths ). Shalit was the first Israeli soldier captured by Palestinian militants since Nachshon Wachsman in 1994. Shalit, having a rank of Corporal in the IDF's Armor Corps at the time of his capture, was promoted to Sergeant, Staff Sergeant, and then Sergeant First Class on the eve of his release. " Analysis: The "Palestinian Nelson Mandela " . Army Radio newscast, 20 October 2011 "חוטפי שליט: הוא לא עונה, זכה לטיפול רפואי וצפה בטלוויזיה" . הארץ .

Israeli soldier (born 1986) Gilad Shalit ( Hebrew : גלעד שליט , Gilˁad Šaliṭ listen ; born 28 August 1986) is a former MIA soldier of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) who, on 25 June 2006, was captured by Palestinian militants in a cross-border raid via tunnels near the Israeli border. Hamas held him captive for over five years until his release on 18 October 2011 as part of a prisoner exchange deal . During his captivity, Hamas rejected requests from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to visit Shalit, claiming that such visits could compromise his location. Several human rights organizations criticized this position, asserting that the conditions of Shalit's confinement were in violation of international humanitarian law . The Red Cross stated, "The Shalit family have the right under international humanitarian law to be in contact with their son." In the early months, the sole means of communication was through an intermediary, who claimed that a low-ranking Hamas official, Ghazi Hamad, asked him to convey to Shalit's parents the assurance that Shalit was "alive and was treated according to Islam's laws regarding prisoners of war . In other words, he had been given shelter, food, and medical care." The United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict called for Shalit's release in its September 2009 report. In the G8 's Deauville Declaration of May 27, 2011, they demanded Shalit's release. Many sources have categorized Shalit's capture as both a kidnapping and an abduction. During his captivity, he was denied visits from the Red Cross and any communication with family members, both of which he was entitled to as a captured soldier under the Geneva Conventions . Furthermore, his captors demanded a form of ransom , although not necessarily of a monetary nature, in exchange for his release. The only instances of contact between Shalit and the outside world during his captivity, prior to his eventual release, consisted of three letters, an audio tape, and a DVD. These were provided to Israel in exchange for the release of 20 female Palestinian prisoners. Shalit was captured near the Kerem Shalom crossing in Israel and was held by Hamas at an undisclosed location within the Gaza Strip . Hamas' initial demands, which included the release of all female and underage Palestinians, as well as Marwan Barghouti , were not met. On 18 October 2011, Shalit was eventually released in a negotiated agreement , securing his freedom after more than five years in isolation and captivity. In exchange, 1,027 Palestinian prisoners were released, some of whom were convicted of multiple murders and carrying out attacks against Israeli civilians. According to Israeli government sources, these released prisoners were collectively responsible for 569 Israeli deaths. Shalit became the first Israeli soldier to be captured by Palestinian militants since the incident involving Nachshon Wachsman in 1994. Shalit held the rank of Corporal in the IDF's Armor Corps at the time of his capture, and he was subsequently promoted to Sergeant, Staff Sergeant, and Sergeant First Class just before his release. He holds dual Israeli and French citizenship , the latter via his grandmother. " Analysis: The "Palestinian Nelson Mandela " . Army Radio newscast, 20 October 2011 "חוטפי שליט: הוא לא עונה, זכה לטיפול רפואי וצפה בטלוויזיה" . הארץ .