Gilad Shalit

Gilad Shalit (גלעד שליט, 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.

Shalit was born on 28 August 1986 in Nahariya, Israel, to Noam and Aviva Shalit.

He has an older brother and a younger sister.

He was raised from in Mitzpe Hila in the Western Galilee.

He graduated with distinction from Manor Kabri High School.

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.

Shalit began military service in the Israel Defense Forces in July 2005, and "despite a low medical rating, chose to serve in a combat unit, following his older brother, Yoel, into the armored corps."

The capture of Shalit was one of the more notable events that took place during the June/July 2006 flare-up of hostilities between Gaza and Israel, the others being the Gaza beach explosion and the Muamar family detention incident.

Noam Chomsky has drawn attention to the cause-and-effect and also to the differences in treatment in the Western media between the Muamar detention that took place a day earlier, and the abduction of Gilad Shalit.

The Israeli army seized the two Palestinian Muamar brothers in an overnight raid into the southern Gaza Strip on 24 June 2006, who were accused of being members of Hamas and planning attacks on Israel.

Hamas said they were sons of a member but were not involved in Hamas.

According to a report by the Army Radio, published nearly a year after the occurrence, the IDF had received a warning on 24 June 2006, the day before Shalit was captured, about a planned abduction.

Israeli security forces entered the Gaza Strip and arrested the two brothers.

The report said that the brothers were transferred to Israel for interrogation, and that the information extracted formed the basis for the warning that militants would try to enter Israel through tunnels to capture soldiers stationed near Gaza.

Early on 25 June 2006, Palestinian militants from the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Popular Resistance Committees, and Army of Islam crossed into Israel from the Gaza Strip through a tunnel near Kerem Shalom and attacked an IDF post.

Two Israeli soldiers were killed and another two, apart from Shalit, were wounded.

Two of the attacking Palestinian militants were also killed.

Shalit suffered a broken left hand and a light shoulder wound, and the militants captured him and took him via a tunnel into Gaza.

Shalit's captors issued a statement the following day, offering information on Shalit if Israel were to agree to release all female Palestinian prisoners and all Palestinian prisoners under the age of 18.

The statement was issued by the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the Popular Resistance Committees (which includes members of Fatah, Islamic Jihad, and Hamas), and a previously unknown group calling itself the Army of Islam.

The United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict called for Shalit's release in its September 2009 report.

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."

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.

As of January 2012 the brothers were still in an Israeli jail, held without trial for over five years.