Israeli soldier not captured; died in battle

JERUSALEM – The Israeli military said today that an Israeli soldier it previously believed had been captured by Hamas fighters in a Gaza ambush had in fact been killed in battle that day.

The soldier’s purported capture Friday had helped shatter an internationally brokered cease-fire, drawn global condemnation and triggered a military assault on the area of his disappearance in southern Gaza that left dozens of Palestinians dead and scores of homes destroyed.

The military did not explain how it reached the conclusion that Hadar Goldin, a 23-year-old infantry lieutenant, was killed in battle Friday.

The announcement of his death came amid signs that Israel is scaling back its 27-day-old ground operation in Gaza.

In a televised address late Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested troops would reassess the operation after completing the demolition of Hamas military tunnels under the Gaza-Israel border. Security officials said the tunnel mission was winding down.

At the same time, Netanyahu warned that Hamas would pay an “intolerable price” if it continued to fire rockets at Israel and that all options remain on the table.

Hamas said it would not halt its fire if Israel withdraws unilaterally.

“We will continue to resist until we achieve our goals,” Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said after Netanyahu’s speech, dismissing the Israeli leader’s remarks as “confused.”

Hamas has said it will not halt hostilities until Israel and Egypt lift their blockade of Gaza, imposed after Hamas overran the territory in 2007.

Egypt was to have hosted indirect talks between Israel and Hamas on a sustainable cease-fire, including new border arrangements for Gaza. The talks were to begin as an internationally brokered three-day truce took hold, starting Friday.

Instead, the arrangement broke down over Goldin’s purported capture and the ensuing violence, and Israel said it won’t attend such talks, at least for the time being.

Cabinet minister Yuval Steinitz said Saturday that Israel won’t send a delegation to Cairo for now, alleging Hamas has repeatedly broken cease-fire arrangements and that there was “no point” negotiating with the Islamic militant group.

At least 1,721 Palestinians have been killed and more than 9,100 wounded – the majority civilians – since the Gaza war began July 8, said health official Ashraf al-Kidra. Israel has lost 67 people, most of them soldiers.

Large swaths of Gaza have been destroyed and about 250,000 people have been forced to flee their homes.

Much of Israel has been exposed to close to 3,000 rocket attacks from Gaza that have killed three civilians and damaged several homes.

Israel has said a key goal of its Gaza operation is the demolition of tunnels Hamas has dug into Israel.

The military has said they are a strategic threat because Hamas has previously launched attacks from there. Several soldiers have been killed in the current round of fighting by Palestinian gunmen who popped out of tunnels near Israeli communities along the Gaza border.

On Saturday, Netanyahu suggested the military will reassess after the tunnels are demolished. Once that is done, “the military will prepare for continuing action in accordance to our security needs,” he said, adding that all options remain on the table.

“We promised to return the quiet to Israel, and that is what we will do. We will continue to act until that goal is reached, however long it will take and with as much force needed,” Netanyahu said. “Hamas needs to understand that it will pay an intolerable price as far as it is concerned for continuing to fire.”