The Israeli soldier who went missing in action during a firefight Friday in the Gaza Strip has been killed, the Israeli army has announced.
“A special committee, led by the IDF (army) chief rabbi, announced the death of the IDF infantry officer of the Givati Brigade, Lieutenant Hadar Goldin, who was killed in battle in the Gaza Strip on Friday,” the army said in a statement on Sunday, the Agence France-Presse reported.
Army personnel met with the soldier’s family at their home in Kfar Saba on Saturday night. Hundreds of people from around Israel gathered outside in support.
The Israeli side had suggested Friday morning that 23-year-old Mr. Goldin was being held by Hamas fighters in Gaza — about an hour after an internationally brokered cease-fire took effect, AFP reported.
Hamas’s armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, acknowledged that it had staged an ambush early Friday, but denied capturing Mr. Goldin.
Israel considers the capture of its soldiers a casus belli (an event that provokes or is used to justify war), AFP reported.
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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