5 Years Later, Gilad Shalit Free

Noam Shalit 'understands price we are paying' for release

(NEWSER) - Israel soldier Gilad Shalit is home and “happy,” but he’s still recovering from five years’ imprisonment, his father says. “In isolation,” Gilad “had no connection with his people, with his own language,” Noam Shalit told members of the media, including the Jerusalem Post . Lack of sunlight and mistreatment in captivity have contributed to health problems, Shalit said, though he noted that prison conditions improved over the years. More»

Sept. 14 footage of Shalit obtained in trade for Palestinian prisoners

(NEWSER) - Imprisoned Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit appears healthy and talkative in a video released to the Israeli government by his captors in exchange for 20 Palestinian prisoners. In the video, Shalit talks of wanting to return home after his 3-year detention and holds up a copy of a newspaper dated September 14. The terms of the deal—that the tape be at least a minute long, be recent, and show Shalit talking—appear to have been satisfied, the Jerusalem Post reports. More»

Israel agrees to withdraw from Gaza if truce holds

(NEWSER) - Hamas and other Gaza militants have agreed to an immediate ceasefire, and will allow Israel a week to pull troops out of the area, a Hamas official said today in Egypt. Israel said it would withdraw if the truce was upheld. It had declared a unilateral ceasefire beginning early this morning, but Hamas had vowed to keep fighting until troops were withdrawn from Gaza, Reuters reports. More»

(NEWSER) - Israel dropped leaflets on the Gaza strip today warning inhabitants of an escalation in the 2-week offensive against Hamas militants, the BBC reports. The leaflets assured civilians that the action was against “Hamas and the terrorists only” and urged people to stay away from military targets. The development could signal a deeper incursion by Israeli ground forces into Gazan cities and refugee camps, the BBC notes. More»

Blames Hamas for sabotaging talks with violence

(NEWSER) - Condoleezza Rice made stops in both Cairo and Israel today in her effort to restart stalled peace talks, telling reporters that she understood "Israel's need to defend itself" against Hamas rockets, but was concerned about "the loss of innocent life" in Israel's retaliatory offensive in Gaza. Rice blamed Hamas for using the rockets to derail the two-state solution in the region. More»