Hamas denies abducting Israeli soldier

This article is more than 12 months old

Aug 02, 2014 10:19 am

Has an Israeli soldier been taken hostage in Gaza?

Or is he dead?

The Hamas Islamist group’s armed wing in the Gaza Strip said on Saturday it had no clear indication on the whereabouts of an Israeli soldier that Israel has accused them of abducting, adding he may have been killed during an ambush.

A statement by the group said it had no contact with militants who were operating in the area in the southern Gaza Strip where Israel said Second-Lieutenant Hadar Goldin, 23, went missing on Friday, and it feared all had been killed.

“We have lost contact with the group of fighters that took part in the ambush and we believe they were all killed in the (Israeli) bombardment. Assuming that they managed to seize the soldier during combat, we assess that he was also killed in the incident,” the statement said.

According to The Times of Israel, Goldin is British-born and was "set to get married in the next few weeks".