Ehud Goldwasser
Native name
אהוד גולדווסר
Born(1975-07-18)18 July 1975
Nahariya, Israel
Died12 July 2006(2006-07-12) (aged 30)
Israel-Lebanon border
Allegiance Israel
Service/branchIsraeli Defense Forces
Years of service1993 – 2006
RankSergeant major
Battles/wars

Ehud "Udi" Goldwasser (Hebrew: אהוד גולדווסר; 18 July 1975 – 12 July 2006) was an Israeli soldier who was abducted in Israel by Hezbollah along with Eldad Regev on 12 July 2006, sparking the 2006 Lebanon War. His rank was First Sergeant.[1]

On 16 July 2008, the bodies of Goldwasser and Regev were returned to Israel in the 2008 Israel–Hezbollah prisoner exchange. Israeli officials claimed an examination of the bodies determined that the two reservists were killed during the ambush.[2] A Lebanese minister claimed the soldiers were killed during the Israeli bombing.[3]

Biography

Prior to his abduction at Israel's border with Lebanon, Ehud "Udi" Goldwasser lived in Nahariya. He was a graduate student at the Technion,[4] the Israeli Institute of Technology, from which he had earlier earned an undergraduate degree in environmental engineering.[5]

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.[6][7] He was interested in environmental conservation, motorcycles, sailing and photography.[8]

According to the United Nations, the fighting of the 2006 Hezbollah cross-border raid began at around 9 AM when Hezbollah launched rockets on Israeli towns along the Lebanese border, apparently as a diversion.[9] A force then attacked two armored IDF Humvees patrolling the border near the Israeli village of Zar'it with anti-tank rockets, and abducted 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.[10]

Ehud (Udi) Goldwasser memorial

In a prisoner exchange on 16 July 2008, Hezbollah transferred the coffins of Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev,[11] in exchange for Lebanese militant Samir Kuntar and four Hezbollah fighters captured by Israel during the 2006 Lebanon War, as well as the remains of 199 Lebanese and Palestinian militants.[12][13]

On 19 September 2006, rock band Aerosmith dedicated their hit song "Dream On" to Goldwasser at the request of his wife.[14]

The Abduction

2006 Lebanon War Memorial

On the morning of July 12, 2006, at 09:05, the Hezbollah organization initiated an attack on northern Israeli settlements by firing rockets and Katyusha rockets as a diversionary action. At the same time, in the area of settlement Zar'it, near the Lebanese border (which was unoccupied), in communication line 105, at a location where Route Zar'it-Shetula crosses the border, a Hezbollah squad climbed over the border fence without being detected. The squad launched two anti-tank missiles at two IDF vehicles of the HMMWV type that were called for patrol along the border. From the first vehicle, carrying soldiers Rgev and Goldwasser, two soldiers managed to extricate themselves, while one of them was seriously wounded. The Hezbollah members did not discover them. The second vehicle sustained a direct hit from an anti-tank missile, resulting in the deaths of three soldiers: Eyal Benin,[15] Shani Turgeman,[16] and Wasim Salah Nazal.[17]

Shortly after that, another Hezbollah squad breached the border fence, infiltrated Israeli territory, and captured two reserve soldiers from the IDF's Division 5: Eldad Regev and Staff Sergeant Ehud Goldwasser. It is believe that both soldiers either died during the attack and abduction, or were severely injured during this time, and died due to their wounds shortly thereafter. The Hezbollah squad withdrew with the soldiers to Lebanese territory, where a vehicle was waiting near the border to swiftly transport them to a hiding place in the village of Ayta ash-Shab. Another Hezbollah squad, armed with rifles and rocket-propelled grenades, covered the kidnappers. The Lebanese newspaper "Al-Akhbar" provided detailed descriptions of the extensive preparations and execution of the abduction.[18]

The event took place on a low Wadi, not visible from IDF positions, and therefore it took about 45 minutes to the IDF to discover the abduction. The IDF then declared the "Hannibal Directive". In response, an IDF tank from the 82nd Battalion and an armored personnel carrier were sent to Lebanon approximately an hour later to locate the captives. The tank was carrying a half-ton explosive charge, and all four crew members were killed. Later on, another soldier from the 50th Battalion was killed by a mortar shell.

Captives Exchange and Burial in Israel

On June 29, 2008, the Israeli government approved by a majority of 22 to 3 the exchange deal.[19][20] The deal was achieved with the assistance of Ofer Dekel.

According to the agreement, the convicted murderer Samir Kuntar, 4 additional prisoners, and around 199 bodies of Hezbollah militants that were temporarily buried in Israel were released. In return, Israel received from Hezbollah the two abducted soldiers (Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser). Until the moment of executing the agreement itself, Israel did not receive explicit information regarding whether they are alive or dead.

The third and final stage of the agreement is defined as a gesture to the Palestinian people, in which approximately 5 Palestinian prisoners were released. The identity of the prisoners is determined by the State of Israel.

On July 17, 2008, one day after the execution of the agreement, the soldiers Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev were buried. In Lebanon, celebrations of joy took place, and a holiday was declared.[21] Thousands of people participated in their funerals. Ehud Goldwasser was buried in the military cemetery in Nahariya, and Eldad Regev was buried in the military cemetery in Haifa. After the Sabbath, their coffins were raised to the next level. On August 6, several more prisoners were released.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Israel buries remains of returned soldiers". CNN. 17 July 2008.
  2. ↑ "Goldwasser and Regev Were Killed in Initial Attack - Latest News Briefs - Arutz Sheva". Arutz Sheva. 17 July 2008.
  3. ↑ "Lebanese Minister: Goldwasser, Regev Were Killed by IDF Fire". Haaretz.com.
  4. ↑ For Families of Captives, a Long Wait in the Dark, nytimes.com; accessed 22 November 2014.
  5. ↑ "List of environmental engineering graduates". Technion. 13 July 2006.
  6. ↑ Victoria Ward (1 August 2006). "MIDDLE EAST WAR: WIFE PLEA FOR SOLDIER". mirror.
  7. ↑ "Kidnapped Soldier's Wife Seeks His Release", washingtonpost.com, 8 August 2006.
  8. ↑ "Remains of abducted soldiers Goldwasser and Regev returned home". Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 16 July 2006. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  9. ↑ S/2006/560 Circumstances of abduction of two Israeli soldiers Archived January 7, 2015, at the Wayback Machine, domino.un.org, 21 July 2006.
  10. ↑ "IDF releases names of two reserve soldiers kidnapped by Hezbollah". Haaretz.com. 13 July 2006. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  11. ↑ "UN identifying bodies presumed to be of Goldwasser, Regev". The Jerusalem Post. 16 July 2008. Archived from the original on 3 February 2012.
  12. ↑ "Coffins said to hold bodies of Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev taken to Israel-Lebanon border". Haaretz. 16 July 2008.
  13. ↑ Myra Noveck; Graham Bowley (18 July 2008). "Funerals in Israel for Two Soldiers". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  14. ↑ "Aerosmith lines up behind abducted IDF soldiers" Archived 2010-06-20 at the Wayback Machine, Israel21c, 19 September 2006
  15. ↑ "Eyal Benin's life story, from the Yzkor website, by the Ministry of Defense". www.izkor.gov.il. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  16. ↑ "Shani Turgeman's life story, from the Yzkor website, by the Ministry of Defense".
  17. ↑ "Wasim Nazal's life story, from the Yzkor website, by the Ministry of Defense".
  18. ↑ "Hezbollah reveals: this is how we abducted Regev and Goldwasser".
  19. ↑ "The Government Approved the Outline for the Agreement on Releasing the Abducted Soldiers in Lebanon". www.gov.il. 29 June 2008.
  20. ↑ "The government approved the exchange deal". news.walla.co.il. Retrieved 29 June 2008.
  21. ↑ "Hezbollah delivers remains of two Israeli soldiers". Reuters. 16 July 2008. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
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