Background
On October 7, 2000, 3 Israeli soldiers on patrol along the Israel-Lebanon
border were attacked by Hezbollah operatives, and taken into Lebanon. The three
soldiers, Benny Avraham, Adi Avitan and Omar Souad, were wounded during the
attack. On October 16, Hezbollah announced that they were also holding Elchanan
Tannenbaum, age 49, an Israeli civilian who had been on a private business trip
to Europe.
On October 29, the Israel Defense Forces issued the following statement indicating that the three soldiers were probably dead. The statement said nothing about the fate of Elchanan Tannenbaum.
An updated assessment regarding the condition of the three IDF soldiers
kidnapped by the Hizballah on October 7, 2000, indicates that there is a
very high probability that the three soldiers are dead.
The families of the soldiers: Staff Sergeant Benny Avraham, Staff Sergeant
Adi Avitan, and Staff Sergeant Omar Souad, have been informed of this
assessment earlier this evening.
The IDF Chief of Staff was presented with this updated intelligence
assessment, which included information from a variety of sources. The IDF
Chief of Staff informed the Prime Minister and the Defense Minister, and
instructed that the families be notified.
The intelligence assessment was also presented to the IDF Chief Rabbi for
the first time, yesterday evening, for a religious ruling regarding the
status of the soldiers. The IDF Chief Rabbi will forward his religious
ruling to the families of the soldiers shortly.
The IDF and the Defense establishment continues to make every effort to
bring home all IDF soldiers missing in action.
Our hearts and deepest sympathy are with the families.
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| Profiles: The Soldiers
 Benny Avraham: Age 21, from Bnei Brak. Parents, Edna and Haim, two older
sisters, Efrat and Dafna. Benny is named after his uncle Binyamin who was killed
in the Yom Kippur War.
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 Adi Avitan: Age 21, from Tiberius. Parents, Zipora and Yaakov Avitan. He
is the third of four brothers, Avi, Eyal and Asaf. He met his girlfriend, Oshrat,
in high school.
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 Omar Souad: Age 28, from Salma. Parents, Quasm and Chadra, and one of
eleven children. He is married to Nofa, and has two children, Quassem, age 5 and
Maatuk, age 3. Omar is an Israeli Beduin and a career soldier in the Israel
Defense Forces.
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Profiles: Elchanan Tannenbaum |
 Elchanan Tannenbaum: age 49, from Holon. Married, with two children,
Keren, age 26 and Ory, age 20. Born in Poland to Holocaust survivors. The family
immigrated to Israel in 1949.
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