Karnit Goldwasser, who lost her husband Ehud in the Hizbullah raid that started the Second Lebanon War in 2006, used a rally Thursday opposite Israeli military headquarters in Tel Aviv on behalf of abducted Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit to send a message for him to "Be Strong."
Goldwasser continued, "It is inconceivable that in three years the Red Cross has not succeeded in reaching you and examining your condition. Is this the enlightened world of the second millenium?" Shalit was abducted three weeks before the raid that took Ehud Goldwasser.
Karnit was kept in the dark about the condition of her husband until the day his corpse was returned, and the autopsy showed he died at the time of his abduction or shortly thereafter. Hamas has said Gilad Shalit is alive and has provided audio tapes, although one Hamas source said Thursday that Shalit's status may not be known, due to the damage inflicted on Gaza by Israel's Cast Lead counter-terror operatio last winter.
European sources were cited Thursday as saying he may be transferred to Egypt soon in a deal among Palestinian Authority factions.