by Joshua Lapide

The families of the abducted soldiers held hope till the end that they might be alive. The entire Israeli cabinet approved the swap yesterday. Israel will send back five Hizbollah prisoners, including Samir Kuntar, who killed four Israelis. The remains of 199 Lebanese and Palestinian militants will also be handed over.

Tel Aviv (AsiaNews) – Israeli authorities and Hizbollah have begun the prisoner exchange under a deal approved by the Israeli cabinet. The swap is taking place at the Rosh Hanikra crossing, under the auspices of the International Red Cross.

Israel moved the five Lebanese prisoners included in the swap to the Liman military base near the Lebanese border waiting for the return of Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, two Israeli soldiers abducted during a Hizbollah raid against an Israeli post which unleashed the 2006 Israeli-Lebanese war. It was shocking to see only two black coffins containing the remains of the two soldiers according to Hizbollah.

Israeli authorities are conducting DNA analysis to confirm their identity and proceed with the rest of the exchange which includes the transfer of the remains of 199 Lebanese and Palestinian militants to Lebanon.

The families of the two soldiers had clung to the hope that they were still alive. Neither the Israeli government nor Hizbollah had made any explicit statement about the actual conditions of the two soldiers.

In Israel many have criticised the “unbalanced” exchange as a sign of “weakness”.

According to Lebanese media, in Lebanon the exchange is being celebrated as a “victory” for Hizbollah.

• israel
• lebanon
• hizbollah
• international
• red
• cross
• rosh
• hanikra
• ehud
• goldwasser
• eldad
• regev
• liman
• military
• base
• dna
• analysis
• 2006
• israeli-lebanese
• war
• victory