JERUSALEM -- Israeli officer Hadar Goldin, a 23-year-old second lieutenant from the central Israeli city of Kfar Saba, was apparently captured on Friday in the mayhem that followed a surprise attack on Israeli troops by militants in the in Gaza Strip.
The incident could lead to an escalation in Israel-Hamas fighting in the coastal territory, which is already in its fourth week. In the past, Israel has gone to great lengths to return captured soldiers, including large-scale military operations and lopsided prisoner swaps to return its captured troops.
Here's a look at previously captured Israeli soldiers:
Gilad Schalit
Schalit was captured by Hamas-linked militants in a cross-border raid in June 2006 and dragged to the Gaza Strip. Two of his fellow tank crew members were killed in the brazen daytime raid across the Gaza-Israel border. In response, Israel launched "Summer Rains," a campaign of airstrikes and ground incursions that failed to secure his release. Schalit was kept in isolation, barred from having visitors and seen only once, in a scripted video released by his captors to prove he was alive. Five and a half years later, he was swapped for more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.
Gilad Schalit is shown in this undated image.
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Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev
The pair of reservists was attacked by Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas in a cross-border raid in July 2006. In response to the attack, Israel launched a 34-day-long war against Hezbollah in Lebanon that killed hundreds of Lebanese and dozens of Israelis. For two years, the fate of the soldiers was unknown. Ultimately, their bodies were swapped for five Lebanese prisoners and the bodies of 200 others.
Israeli soldiers Eldad Regev, 26, left, and Ehud Goldwasser, 31,right, are seen in this undated combination photo. (AP)
