Israeli soldier 'missing'
July 22, 2014
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) revealed the news to Israel's Channel 10 News on Tuesday. The military said they believed the man was killed along with six soldiers in an attack on an armored vehicle on Sunday. Only six bodies have been identified, however.
On Sunday, Hamas' military wing announced they had captured an Israeli soldier. Spokesman Abu Ubaida said the soldier was taken during heavy fighting on the Gaza border. He displayed a photo ID and serial number of the man, but did not show any images of him in their custody.
On Tuesday, the IDF said in a statement they had completed identification of six of the soldiers killed in the battle, but that "efforts to identify the seventh soldier are ongoing and have yet to be determined."
Fresh Israeli attacks
A series of Israeli airstrikes early on Tuesday killed over 10 people in Gaza, including five members of the same family, emergency services spokesman Ashraf al-Kidra said. Four of the family members killed were women, he added.
The attacks set off huge explosions around Gaza City as the pre-dawn call to prayer rang out from mosques in the area.
The death toll in Gaza now stands at more than 580 since Israel's military began bombarding the densely populated enclave of 1.7 million people on July 8. Around 30 people have been killed since late Monday, al-Kidra said.
Two Israeli soldiers were killed early Tuesday, according to the military. Twenty-seven Israeli soldiers and two civilians have been killed in total.
Most of the dead in Gaza are civilians, including around 100 children, according to Gaza health officials. The UN says more than 100,000 Palestinians have been forced to flee their homes.
Ceasefire push
Tuesday's violence comes a day after US Secretary of State John Kerry traveled to Cairo in a bid to forge a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.
During a meeting with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Kerry called Israel's offensive in Gaza, which began after Gaza rocket fire across the border, "appropriate and legitimate." But he also expressed concern for the safety of civilians in the coastal territory.
Kerry pledged $47 million (34 million euros) in aid for Gaza's besieged civilians. He is began talks with Egyptian leadership Tuesday and will later meet with President Abdel Fatah el-Sissi.
dr/msh (Reuters, AFP, dpa, AP)