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Gilad Shalit
(1986- )Gilad Shalit (19 at the time of his abduction) was born on August 28, 1986. He is the son of Aviva and Noam Shalit and the brother of Yoel and Hadas. Shalit was born in Nahariya but was raised from the age of two in Mitzpe Hila in the western Galilee. He graduated with distinction from the science class of Manor Kabri High School. Shalit began his military service about a year before his abduction - at the end of July 2005. Despite a low medical profile, he preferred to serve in a combat unit, and followed his elder brother Yoel into the armored corp. On June 25, 2006, Shalit was captured in a cross border raid on the Kerem Shalom crossing from the Gaza Strip by Palestinian militants and has been held hostage by Hamas since. His abduction, and the following Hezbollah abduction of Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev into Lebanon, were key events leading to the summer 2006 conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon. Shalit holds dual Israeli and French citizenship which encouraged French and European Union involvement in the efforts to release him. |
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