Was This the Fate of Hadar Goldin?

Following the capture of Israel Defence Forces (IDF) soldier Hadar Goldin, reports are circulating that the Israeli military may invoke the covert 'Hannibal Directive' to prevent the Second Lieutenant being used as critical leverage in the ongoing Gaza conflict. The controversial protocol, introduced in the late 1980s, allows IDF commanders to take any necessary action to foil an abduction of a soldier, even if it means endangering the life of the captive Israeli.
[...]

The protocol is founded on a fear that any captive Israeli will be used as a bargaining chip, like Shalit, who was held for five years before being released in return for 1,027 Palestinian prisoners.

[...]

"In certain senses, with all the pain that saying this entails, an abducted soldier, in contrast to a soldier who has been killed, is a national problem," [Shaul Mofaz, former IDF Chief of Staff,] told Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth.

  IBTimes

Retaliation Recap for "Kidnapped" Soldier

UPDATED BElOW

The Israeli military death toll rose to 64 after Israel announced that Hadar Goldin, a 23-year-old infantry lieutenant feared captured in Gaza, was actually killed in battle. His funeral is later Sunday. Three civilians have been killed on the Israeli side since hostilities began.

Israel had earlier said it feared Goldin had been captured by Hamas militants alongside two other soldiers who were killed Friday near Rafah in an ambush that was followed by heavy shelling that left dozens of Palestinians dead.

Large swaths of Gaza have been destroyed and some 250,000 people have been forced to flee their homes since the war began.

[...]

In nearly four weeks of fighting, more than 1,700 Palestinians, mainly civilians, have been killed as well as nearly 70 Israelis, almost all soldiers.

  alJazeera

Obviously, the IDF never investigated whether Goldin had been captured - or as they put it "kidnapped" - or killed, opting instead for the handy immediate excuse to slaughter more Palestinians.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

 UPDATE: As I read more info about this incident with Hadar Goldin, it appears that the IDF did know, and Hamas admitted, to capturing Goldin, but apparently, he was subsequently killed along with his captors. I am unable to ascertain how that occurred, whether by the Hamas soldiers or by the IDF accidentally.

 UPDATE: 8/4

Following the capture of Israel Defence Forces (IDF) soldier Hadar Goldin, reports are circulating that the Israeli military may invoke the covert 'Hannibal Directive' to prevent the Second Lieutenant being used as critical leverage in the ongoing Gaza conflict. The controversial protocol, introduced in the late 1980s, allows IDF commanders to take any necessary action to foil an abduction of a soldier, even if it means endangering the life of the captive Israeli.
[...]

The protocol is founded on a fear that any captive Israeli will be used as a bargaining chip, like Shalit, who was held for five years before being released in return for 1,027 Palestinian prisoners.

[...]

"In certain senses, with all the pain that saying this entails, an abducted soldier, in contrast to a soldier who has been killed, is a national problem," [Shaul Mofaz, former IDF Chief of Staff,] told Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth.

  IBTimes

Collective Punishment

That's a big catch.

The Israel military offensive on Gaza took more than 100 lives overnight, as the IDF is searching for a missing soldier [Hadar Goldin] Hamas, blamed by Israel for kidnapping the soldier, denies the allegation. Some reports say he may have been killed by friendly fire.

  RT

If Hamas does have the soldier, it’s not a kidnapping. It’s a capture.

Of the 107 Palestinians killed in Gaza overnight, 35 died in the town of Rafah as Israel carried out air raids from midnight onward, according to AFP. Dozens were also killed in southern Gaza a few hours after the ceasefire began.

Yeah, apparently “ceasefire” has a new meaning.

Israel’s Justice Minister Tzipi Livini said Hamas had kidnapped Goldin and promised the group would pay a high price.

The group? The entire town of Rafah, you mean.

Hamas’s military wing, the al-Qassam brigade, said the Israeli soldier may have been killed by Israeli shelling as the IDF targeted Hamas positions in southern Gaza.

"The Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades have no information on this soldier. We have lost contact with one of our combatant groups, which was fighting in the sector where the soldier went missing and it is possible that our fighters and this soldier were killed," they said in a statement.

[...]

Elsewhere in the West Bank the IDF fired smoke grenades at a Palestinian protest rally. Witnesses say this later turned to gunfire, killing two Palestinians and injuring 70 others.

[...]

Meanwhile, an unnamed Israeli official told Reuters that Israel won’t send envoys to Gaza ceasefire negotiations planned in Egypt on Saturday.

Hell no. A little bit longer, and they’ll have wiped out the whole of Palestine.

Protective Edge has become Israeli’s bloodiest operation against Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip in recent years, with the Palestinian death toll now topping 1,550 - more than the 2008 operation. The IDF has lost more than 60 troops in the conflict.