Word: shalit
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...high time for Hamas to return that soldier," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told a media conference on Wednesday in reference to the capture of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, which precipitated the current Israeli offensive in Gaza. "It is high time then for everybody who has any influence on Hamas to make sure that that happens, and then we can get back on track...
...expanded objectives of the Israeli campaign and the possibility that the escalation of fighting creates its own momentum, Israel's original purpose in reentering Gaza might soon be forgotten. "We have no intention of drowning in the Gaza swamp," said Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz Thursday, adding that if Shalit is returned the troops will pull back. But it is the confrontation in northern Gaza, far away from where Shalit is believed to be held, that threatens to spiral out of control...
...There is still a chance a deal could be worked out, though the efficacy of Egyptian mediation efforts are, at this point, questionable. Some reports assert that Shalit's captors have significantly scaled back earlier demands for the release of more than 1,000 prisoners. And Shalit's father, Noam, has publicly called for the Israeli government to release prisoners, as it has done in the past, in order to bring his son home...
...stated aim of the Israeli campaign at its outset was to free Cpl. Gilad Shalit, a soldier captured by militants during a raid on an army outpost on the Israeli side of the border. Israel has conducted air strikes throughout the Gaza Strip, but the initial focus of the ground effort was on the south, where it is believed Shalit is being held. Further incursions soon followed in northern Gaza, provoking intense fighting in the neighborhoods of Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun, just inside the border with Israel. Israeli officials say their purpose in the north is to prevent militants...
Palestinian sources tell TIME it's more likely that Shalit's abduction was planned by a radical Palestinian faction that believes Hamas' leaders were giving away too much to the Israelis. Whatever the case, the Israelis have made it clear that as long as their young soldier is a hostage, Mashaal's life is in danger...