French President Nicolas Sarkozy has informed Aviva and Noam Shalit that their son Gilad did finally receive their letter. The letter was given to President Sarkozy prior to his meeting in September with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad who in turn passed it to Hamas.

Attempts to deliver letters to Gilad via the International Red Cross were in vain as Hamas refused to cooperate.

Noam Shalit stated that yes, he is pleased to hear his son received the letter but not too excited since he and his wife prefer to wait until the day when Gilad returns home.

Gilad Shalit was taken captive in a cross-border attack in Kerem Shalom in June 2006. No one has been permitted to see him since, not even representatives of the International Red Cross.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)