Shalit "Proof of Life" confimred

While not the first "proof of life" received, this one is probably the most welcome to the family of kidnapped IDF soldier, Gilad Shalit. A letter allegedly passed through a Hamas delegation from Damascus and was given to Egyptian officials in Cairo. Egypt allegedly then passed it on to former Deputy Shin Bet head Ofer Dekel, who is in charge of dealing with the affairs of the kidnapped soldiers.

I'm not sure what "lab tests" were performed to verify the authenticity of the letter, as having been written by Shalit, nor am I so convinced as to the truthfulness of its content (taking dictation for video and letters is common practice with terrorist kidnappers), but it's a wonderful gift for the Shalit family to receive with all of its official stamps of endorsement. In the letter, Shalit wrote:

I feel fine and am being treated well [...] I hope to celebrate my next birthday at home [...] I miss you and think about you a lot.

Definitely the kind of message any parent wants to read from their son.

In related news, as recently as yesterday, the IDF has been continuing to take out terrorist weapons supplies & supply lines. The ongoing effort to remove both Hamas and Hezbollah's abilities to fire rockets or other attacks into Israel is being tagged as an attempt "to create the conditions for the return of Corporal Gilad Shalit and to stop terror attacks" but even I have to admit, it sounds more like mopping up or trying to take out one last terrorist before the plug is pulled. Not that I object to every last ditch attempt the IDF can make to eliminate the terrorists and/or their weapons caches. Go for it!