Families of missing IDF soldiers call on government to push Hamas deal
According to recent reports, Israel briefed the families of IDF soldiers Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul on advancement in talks over a prisoner exchange deal with Hamas.
Family members of Israel Defense Forces soldiers Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul, whose bodies are held by Hamas, call on the government to push forward a prisoner exchange deal with Hamas. The Goldin family said April 29, "There is an opportunity to return our sons Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul and civilians [Avera] Mengistu and [Hisham] al-Sayyad from the hands of Hamas. To miss the opportunity now would be a national irresponsibility."
A day earlier, on the occasion of Israel’s Memorial Day for the Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Terror, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged "to continue to work tirelessly in order to return our missing and our prisoners,” naming Goldin and Shaul, as well as the two Israeli civilians Mengistu and Sayyad.
Goldin and Shaul were both killed in 2014 during Operation Protective Edge in the Gaza Strip. Their bodies were captured by Hamas. Mengistu crossed into Gaza in 2014, and Sayyad crossed in 2015. Both men have apparently crossed the border fence willingly, but both reportedly suffer from mental health issues. They were captured by Hamas after crossing the border.
The possibility of a prisoner exchange deal with Hamas seems to become more tangible in recent days. According to publications on April 29, Netanyahu convened April 21 the ministerial committee responsible for returning Israeli captives, to discuss efforts to reach a prisoner exchange deal with Hamas. The secured videoconference that included apart from Netanyahu also Defense Minister Naftali Bennett, Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon and Interior Minister Aryeh Deri was the first time the committee was updated on recent contacts with Hamas for an eventual deal.
