Israel, Hezbollah to swap prisoners today

Hezbollah has given no evidence that soldiers Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev are alive, and has not allowed the Red Cross to see them since they were captured on July 12, 2006, in a cross-border raid. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told his Cabinet last month that Israel thinks the men did not survive.

The deal, approved in a 22-3 vote, reflects the country’s deep moral commitment to its soldiers that they will never be left behind in the field. It also will close a painful chapter from Israel’s inconclusive war against Hezbollah, which was sparked by the soldiers’ capture.

Zvi Regev, Eldad’s father, said he was holding out hope his son might still be alive. “I really hope this nightmare will end tomorrow,” he told Israel Radio. “We will accept whatever will be. We need to be strong and accept it for better or for worse.”

Critics have said that by trading bodies for prisoners, Israel is giving militants little incentive to keep captured soldiers alive.