Newspaper investigation reveals Israeli soldier was likely kidnapped

Hamas’s military wing Al-Qassam Brigades announced on Sunday that it had kidnapped an Israeli soldier named Oron Shaul. Some Israeli officials have since denied the claim; however, the Israeli military spokesperson has neither confirmed nor denied the kidnapping.

Arabs 48 website investigated the situation and came to the conclusion that the Palestinian fighters’ claim to have had kidnapped an Israeli soldier is likely to be true. The website investigated the Facebook page of the soldier Oron Shaul as well as Israeli military statements.

Scanning the soldier’s personal Facebook page, Arabs 48 said it found several messages of condolences posted by Shaul’s friends over his death. Shaul reportedly received the excellence award from former Israeli President Shimon Peres on the 66th anniversary of the founding of Israel.

However, when studying the Israeli military’s most recent list of soldiers confirmed dead, Shaul’s name had been removed.

Israeli sources said that there are still seven unidentified soldiers in the forensic centre.

Spokesperson of Al-Qassam Brigades Abu-Obaida said the number of Israeli casualties is higher than the numbers being announced by Israel. In a televised speech, Abu-Obaida announced the kidnapping of the Israeli soldier, also providing his name and military number.