Israel Matzav

Oh no.... IDF soldier missing in Gaza

You might recall that after Sunday's battle in Shejaiya, Hamas claimed to have kidnapped an IDF soldier, and that Israel's UN ambassador, Ron Prossor, denied that was the case. The IDF, however, said nothing. Now, the IDF is saying that there is a soldier missing - albeit not the one Hamas claimed to have kidnapped - and they don't know whether that soldier is dead or alive.

An IDF soldier who was involved in a Hamas attack on Israeli soldiers on the Gaza border on Sunday is missing, the army said Tuesday.

The IDF on Tuesday said that it had identified six of seven bodies of IDF soldiers killed in Sunday's attack on an armored personnel carrier (APC) on the Gaza border.

The announcement came after Hamas claimed to have kidnapped an Israeli soldier on Sunday, not clarifying if he was alive or dead.

Abu Ubaida, the spokesman of the Hamas's armed wing, said the soldier was seized in heavy fighting on the Gaza border. He displayed a photo ID and army serial number of the man, but showed no image of him in their hands.

...

The IDF had previously announced on Sunday that the seven soldiers aboard the APC were killed in the incident, but their names had not been released due to problems identifying them. The families of the soldiers, however, were notified that their loved ones had been killed in the incident.

The IDF on Tuesday released the names of the six soldiers who have been identified as Sgt. Max Steinberg, aged 24, from Beersheba;  Stf.-Sgt. Shachar Tase, 20, from Pardesiya; Stf.-Sgt. Daniel Pomerantz, 20, Kfar Azar; Sgt. Shon Mondshine, 19, Tel Aviv; Sgt. Ben Itzhak Oanounou, 19, Ashdod; Stf.-Sgt. Oren Simcha Noah, 22, Hoshaya. All six soldiers were from the Golani Brigade and have been promoted posthumously.

Deja vu all over again.... 

Labels: Gaza, Hamas, IDF, kidnapping, Operation Protective Edge

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:57 AM