The Israeli military says a soldier reported missing in Gaza
on Friday is dead. Hadar Goldin was believed to have been captured by militants
during fighting, leading to the collapse of a ceasefire shortly after it had
been declared.
The Israel Defense Forces said it had determined that Lt
Goldin had died. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has said the operation in Gaza
will continue until it restores security to Israeli citizens.
BBC correspondents in Gaza City reported the sound of
ongoing Israeli strikes on Sunday morning.
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| ISREALI SOLDIERS |
Agence France-Presse news agency quoted Palestinian
emergency services as saying 12 Palestinians had been killed early on Sunday
but this has not been independently confirmed.
Israeli media also reported fresh militant rocket attacks. Hamas
had denied it was holding the 23-year-old Lt Goldin captive, saying it did not
know the soldier’s whereabouts.
The military wing of the Islamist group said it had lost
contact with some fighters in the area where Israel said the soldier had been
seized. It said it believed the fighters and possibly Lt Goldin had been killed
in an Israeli airstrike.
Israel’s defence minister and the chief military rabbi met
the soldier’s family at their home in the town of Kfar Saba on Saturday night.
Hundreds of well-wishers had gathered outside their home and
there was an outpouring of grief when the military’s announcement was made
public.
It is understood the army came to its conclusion after
examining DNA evidence, reports the BBC’s Bethany Bell in Jerusalem. No body
has been found.
Confirmation of Lt Goldin’s death means 66 Israelis have now
died in the fighting, all but two of them soldiers. A Thai worker in Israel
also died.
Some 1,700 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed
since the conflict began more than three weeks ago.
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