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Israel Confirms One Soldier Is Missing in Gaza Israel Confirms One Soldier Is Missing in Gaza
(about 1 hour later)
JERUSALEM — The Israeli military announced on Tuesday that the remains of one of its soldiers presumed to have been killed on Sunday in Gaza had still not been found or identified, two days after Hamas’s military wing said it had captured a soldier. JERUSALEM — Israeli officials said on Tuesday that it was still not clear whether an Israeli soldier missing in Gaza had been captured or had died in combat.
In the early hours of Sunday morning, during a fierce battle between Israeli ground forces and Hamas militants in Shejaiya, an eastern neighborhood of Gaza City, an aged Israeli armored personnel carrier carrying seven soldiers was hit by an antitank missile, according to the military. The Israeli military said it had recovered the remains of six other soldiers who were killed in the same incident, but had not found or identified those of Sgt. Oron Shaul, 21, a soldier with the Golani brigade who is from Poria, in northern Israel.
It was one of the deadliest encounters since Israel sent ground forces into Gaza late Thursday, after 10 days of aerial bombing, which Israel says is aimed at severely damaging Hamas’s rocket-firing capabilities and underground tunnel network. The military wing of Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza, said on Sunday that it had captured Sergeant Shaul.
“The identification process of six of the soldiers killed has been completed and confirmed,” the military said in a statement on Tuesday. “The efforts to identify the seventh soldier are ongoing and have yet to be determined.” A senior Israeli military official said on Tuesday that Sergeant Shaul was definitely among the seven soldiers in an armored personnel carrier that entered Gaza around 1 a.m. Sunday. The vehicle, an M-113 that the official said was 40 or 50 years old, encountered some problem — possibly a mechanical breakdown, or a roadblock or an ambush — and some of the soldiers got out to resolve it, he said, speaking on the condition of anonymity under military rules. The vehicle was then hit by an antitank missile and caught fire, he said, and it was not yet known whether Sergeant Shaul was inside the carrier when it was hit.
Until now, the military had said it was “looking into” Hamas’s assertion that it had abducted a soldier, saying it was unable to confirm or deny the claim. Tuesday’s announcement was the military’s first attempt to explain the confusion. The official said it took the Israeli military between 7 and 10 hours to get the vehicle and the remains of six of the soldiers out of Gaza.
The Israeli military identified the seventh soldier in the personnel carrier as Sergeant Oron Shaul, 21, a combat soldier of the Golani brigade from Poria in northern Israel. That name corresponded with a name Hamas had provided in Arabic when it claimed the seizure of the soldier. Hamas also provided an Israeli identity number for the soldier. “I’ll be very frank: Currently, we don’t know where he is,” the official said of Sergeant Shaul. “We don’t know if he is alive or dead, we simply don’t know.” He added, “Unless we see hard evidence that he’s alive, or hard evidence that he’s dead, or hard evidence that he is in the hands of Hamas, we simply say that he is missing.”
The statement said the families of the seven soldiers “who were involved in the incident were briefed on the circumstances of the attack.” The destruction of the vehicle, during a battle between Israeli ground forces and Hamas militants in Shejaiya, an eastern neighborhood of Gaza City, was one of the deadliest encounters for Israeli forces since they advanced into Gaza late Thursday.
Motti Almoz, the military’s chief spokesman, told Israel Radio that the military was “clarifying the circumstances surrounding this incident.” The military said in a statement on Tuesday that the families of the seven soldiers “who were involved in the incident were briefed on the circumstances of the attack.” Motti Almoz, the military’s chief spokesman, told Israel Radio that the military was “clarifying the circumstances surrounding this incident.”
Fighting continued in Shejaiya overnight, where the Israeli military said it had struck weapons stores, command and control positions and other infrastructure. So far, the military said it had uncovered some 23 underground tunnels in Gaza and 66 access points to the tunnels, many of them in Shejaiya, which lies close to the border with Israel. The stated purposes of the Israeli incursion into Gaza include finding and destroying tunnels used by militants to cross secretly into and out of Israel. The military said on Tuesday that it had uncovered about 23 tunnels so far, with 66 access points, many of them in Shejaiya, which lies close to the border with Israel. Fighting continued in Shejaiya overnight, where the Israeli military said it had struck weapons stores, command posts and other installations used by Hamas.
Some of the tunnels have been used by Hamas militants to carry out incursions into Israeli territory and there have been several deadly clashes between militants emerging from tunnels on the Israeli side of the border and Israeli soldiers. Israeli officials say the tunnels were also designed for attacks on Israeli civilian communities. The Israeli military official said more tunnels had been uncovered in Shejaiya than expected, and added, “I think we are in the middle of the way somewhere” with the job of destroying the militant tunnels in Gaza. He said he doubted that every tunnel would be found, but “you don’t have to achieve 100 percent of the targets,” and added, “you have to decide whether to go for the last 5 percent of the tunnels based on what you can pay for it.”
Rocket fire from Gaza continued on Tuesday, with one rocket striking the town of Yehud, near Tel Aviv, causing damage to houses but no serious injury. There have been several deadly clashes between militants emerging from tunnels on the Israeli side of the border and Israeli soldiers. Israeli officials say the tunnels were also designed for attacks on Israeli civilian communities.
Israel’s bombardment of Gaza also continued from the air and sea, and artillery shelling could be heard through the night. The Palestinian health ministry said that at least four women were killed, including a pregnant woman, 25, whose home outside Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza was hit by an artillery shell. Another woman, 25, was killed in similar circumstances east of Rafah in southern Gaza and two more women, aged 70 and 50, died from Israeli fire, also in southern Gaza. Rocket fire from Gaza into Israel continued on Tuesday, with one rocket striking the town of Yehud, near Tel Aviv, causing damage to houses but no serious injury. After rockets were reported to have struck in and around the Tel Aviv airport, several American airlines announced that they were suspending flights to Israel.
After Hamas announced over the weekend that it had captured an Israeli soldier, Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank celebrated. Israel’s bombardment of Gaza also continued on Tuesday from the air and sea, and artillery shelling could be heard into the night. The Palestinian Health Ministry said that at least four women were killed, including a pregnant woman, 25, whose home outside Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza was hit by an artillery shell. Another woman, 25, was killed in similar circumstances east of Rafah in southern Gaza and two more women, aged 70 and 50, died from Israeli fire, also in southern Gaza. More than 575 people have been killed, many of them civilians, since the fighting erupted.
Holding a soldier, dead or alive, would be a significant victory for Hamas, with the Palestinian death toll from Israel’s two-week-old campaign in Gaza now exceeding 575, many of them civilians. The Islamic militant group has long advocated seizing soldiers and holding them hostage for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. It would also be a significant blow for Israel. A total of 27 soldiers have been killed so far during the ground invasion. Two Israeli civlians have been killed by rocket and mortar fire. Holding an Israeli soldier, dead or alive, would be a significant coup for Hamas, which has not succeeded in inflicting many casualties on the Israeli side. The militant group has long advocated capturing Israeli soldiers and holding them hostage to exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. A total of 27 Israeli soldiers have been killed since the latest fighting erupted two weeks ago, and two Israeli civilians have been killed by rocket or mortar fire.
The questions about the fate of the seventh soldier in the personnel carrier could further complicate international efforts under way to broker a cease-fire, with Israel unlikely to want to withdraw its forces until it has clarified the situation or located the soldier’s remains. If Hamas is indeed holding a soldier or his remains, the Islamic group is likely to want to hold out for a trade and demand the release of its prisoners in Israeli jails, posing a difficult dilemma for Israel. The government and the public are becoming increasingly opposed to such exchanges. The questions about the fate of Sergeant Shaul could further complicate international efforts to broker a cease-fire. Israel is unlikely to agree to withdraw its forces until it recovers him or his remains or knows for certain what has happened to him. The Israeli military official said that the Hamas militants who claimed to be holding Sergeant Shaul may have simply gotten his name from his equipment at the battle scene, or from social networks, which were busy with rumors naming soldiers involved in the incident within hours of the attack on the carrier.
Israel has gone to great lengths in the past to secure the return of missing soldiers or their remains, agreeing to lopsided prisoner swaps that critics say encourage more kidnapping. Israel has gone to great lengths in the past to secure the return of missing soldiers or their remains, agreeing to release large numbers of prisoners in lopsided exchanges that critics say encourage the militants. Israeli public opinion has been souring on such exchanges.
In Cairo, Secretary of State John Kerry continued his efforts Tuesday to help broker a cease-fire in Gaza at a meeting with Egypt’s foreign minister, Sameh Shoukry. Mr. Kerry planned to meet Tuesday night with the head of Egypt’s intelligence service. Secretary of State John Kerry continued his efforts on Tuesday to obtain a Gaza cease-fire, meeting in Cairo with Egypt’s foreign minister, Sameh Shoukry. Mr. Kerry planned to meet later in the evening with the head of Egypt’s intelligence service, and was also scheduled to meet with the head of the Arab League, Nabil el-Araby, and with President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.
Sketching out a two-stage process, Mr. Shoukry said he was hopeful that Mr. Kerry’s visit would result in a cease-fire “that provides the necessary security for the Palestinian people” and that “medium- and long-term” issues on Gaza’s future could be addressed after it was in effect.Sketching out a two-stage process, Mr. Shoukry said he was hopeful that Mr. Kerry’s visit would result in a cease-fire “that provides the necessary security for the Palestinian people” and that “medium- and long-term” issues on Gaza’s future could be addressed after it was in effect.
Mr. Kerry was also scheduled to meet Tuesday with the head of the Arab League, Nabil el-Araby, and with President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the Egyptian president. Mr. Kerry was expected to stay in Cairo until at least Wednesday morning.
On Monday night, Mr. Kerry met with Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations Secretary General, and with Majid Faraj, the chief of intelligence for the Palestinian Authority.On Monday night, Mr. Kerry met with Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations Secretary General, and with Majid Faraj, the chief of intelligence for the Palestinian Authority.