Fearing Death, Shalit Went on Hunger Strike
Former captive Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit went on a hunger strike that put his life in danger shortly before his release.
The hunger strike is what led in part to Hamas agreeing to an exchange, out of fear that Shalit would die and Hamas would lose its main bargaining chip, Yediot Acharonot reported on Sunday. The daily Israeli newspaper was citing an intelligence report on Shalit.
The report said that shrapnel fired during the kidnapping entered Shalit’s body, barely missing vital organs and that the wounds eventually healed.
The report also said, according to Yediot, that Iran and Hamas gave misleading information to Israeli intelligence on Shalit’s whereabouts, hoping that an Israeli rescue force would enter a booby trapped house in northern Gaza.
Shalit was reportedly guarded by the same four Hamas members throughout his captivity.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
