Ehud Goldwasser
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Ehud "Udi" Goldwasser (Hebrew: אהוד גולדווסר; 18 July 1975 - July 12, 2006) was an Israeli soldier who was abducted in Israel by Hezbollah along with Eldad Regev on 12 July 2006, sparking the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict. His rank was First Sergeant.[1]
On July 16, 2008, the bodies of Goldwasser and Regev were returned to Israel in an Israeli-Hezbollah prisoner swap. An examination of the bodies determined that the two reservists were killed during the ambush.[2]
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[edit] Biography
Prior to his capture at Israel's border with Lebanon, Ehud "Udi" Goldwasser lived in Nahariya. He was a graduate student at the Technion,[3] the Israeli Institute of Technology, from which he had earlier earned an undergraduate degree in environmental engineering.[4] As a teenager, he lived in South Africa with his parents, Shlomo and Mickey, and two younger brothers. In 2005, he married Karnit, who would later campaign globally for his release.[5][6] He was interested in environmental conservation, motorcycles, sailing and photography.[7]
[edit] Raid
According to the United Nations, the fighting began at around 9 AM when Hezbollah launched rockets on Israeli military positions along the Lebanese border, apparently as a diversion.[8] A force then attacked two armored IDF Humvees patrolling the border near the Israeli village of Zar'it with anti-tank rockets, and captured the two soldiers.
An Israeli Merkava Mk. II tank was damaged by a 200 kg improvised explosive device, while attempting to give pursuit, killing all four crewmembers.[9]
[edit] Prisoner swap
On July 16, 2008, Hezbollah transferred the coffins of Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev,[10] in exchange for Lebanese militant Samir Kuntar and four other Hezbollah fighters captured by Israel during the 2006 Lebanon War, as well as the remains of 199 Lebanese and Palestinian militants.[11][12]
The exchange took place on the Lebanese side of the border at Rosh Hanikra. Their bodies were returned as part of a prisoner exchange between Israel and Hezbollah in which the latter would receive the bodies of 199 Hezbollah members as well as 5 prisoners including Samir Kuntar. Their Hezbollah captors had withheld any information about the condition of the two soldiers since they were captured on July 12, 2006.
[edit] Aerosmith dedication
On September 19, 2006, rock band Aerosmith dedicated their hit song "Dream On" to Goldwasser at the request of Goldwasser's wife.[13]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "Israel buries remains of returned soldiers". CNN. 2008-07-17. http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/07/17/israel.swap/.
- ^ [1]
- ^ For Families of Captives, a Long Wait in the Dark
- ^ "List of environmental engineering graduates". Technion. 2006-07-13. http://sviva.technion.ac.il/index.php?page=28&menu=2.
- ^ MIDDLE EAST WAR: WIFE PLEA FOR SOLDIER
- ^ Kidnapped Soldier's Wife Seeks His Release
- ^ "Remains of abducted soldiers Goldwasser and Regev returned home". Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 2006-07-16. http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Terrorism-+Obstacle+to+Peace/Terrorism+from+Lebanon-+Hizbullah/Bodies+of+abducted+soldiers+Goldwasser+and+Regev+returned+home+16-Jul-2008.htm.
- ^ S/2006/560 of 21 July 2006
- ^ "IDF releases names of two reserve soldiers kidnapped by Hezbollah". Haaretz. 2006-07-13. http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/738310.html.
- ^ "UN identifying bodies presumed to be of Goldwasser, Regev". The Jerusalem Post. 2008-07-16. http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1215330982807&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull.
- ^ "Coffins said to hold bodies of Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev taken to Israel-Lebanon border". Haaretz. 2008-07-16. http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1002425.html.
- ^ Myra Noveck; Graham Bowley (2008-07-18). "Funerals in Israel for Two Soldiers". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/18/world/middleeast/18israel.html?ref=middleeast. Retrieved 2008-07-18.
- ^ "Aerosmith lines up behind abducted IDF soldiers", Israel21c, 19 September 2006
[edit] External links
- Official site about the 2006 MIAs (Shalit, Goldwasser, Regev)
- Event of Two Israeli Soldiers Kidnapped - YnetNews
- Udi's photography gallery
