Netanyahu vows to return ‘bodies’ of Israeli soldiers held in Gaza

Benjamin Netanyahu pledged on Sunday to return the “bodies” of two Israeli soldiers being held in Gaza, Anadolu has reported. Speaking during his weekly cabinet meeting, the Israeli prime minister said, “The government has been working on every level to return Oron Shaul and Hadar Golden, God’s mercy be on them, for burial in Israel.”

On Friday, Netanyahu had promised the family of Oron Shaul to have him returned home when he visited to offer his condolences on the death of the soldier’s father.

The de facto government in Gaza run by Hamas issued a statement denying that there has been any kind of Israeli efforts on this issue. The movement suggested that the Israeli claims are “baseless lies.” The Hamas official in charge of this matter is Musa Doodin. “There are currently no real Israeli attempts to free its prisoners in the Gaza Strip,” he told Anadolu. Doodin reiterated that the starting point for discussion is the liberation of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.

Hamas has always refused to give any details about Israeli soldiers being held in Gaza. No information is released about their state of health, or even if they are alive or dead.

The movement has, however, hinted that there are four Israelis held captive in the besieged enclave. Israel acknowledges that two of its soldiers were lost in Gaza during its 51-day military offensive in 2014.

The Islamic Resistance Movement agreed a prisoner swap with Israel in 2011 in exchange for Sergeant Gilad Shalit, who was captured by the Hamas military wing in Gaza in 2006. Israeli released 1,027 Palestinian prisoners as its part of the agreement.