JERUSALEM (AP) – An Israeli airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip on Thursday killed a Hamas militant involved in the capture of an Israeli soldier, the Israeli military said.
There was no immediate confirmation from Hamas, the Islamic militant group that rules Gaza. In June 2006, militants from Hamas and two allied factions tunneled under the Israeli border, killed two soldiers at a border post and captured a third, Cpl. Gilad Schalit.
Schalit remains in captivity in the Gaza Strip as talks have stalled on swapping him for hundreds of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.
The military did not say in what capacity Nafez Manzur was involved in Schalit’s capture. It said Manzur was also involved in other attacks, including the suicide bombing at an Israeli crossing into Gaza two weeks ago. Thirteen soldiers were wounded in that assault.