Gilad Shalit to be discharged from IDF this month

Five months after being freed from five years of captivity in Gaza, Gilad Shalit is set to be released from compulsory army service in the IDF in March.

Noam Shalit, Gilad’s father, told Channel 2 that the date of his release will be determined by the army’s medical board. Shalit, who was made a noncommissioned officer after he returned to Israel, recently underwent surgery to remove shrapnel from his hand. He sustained the injuries during the 2006 cross-border raid during which he was kidnapped to Gaza.

The elder Shalit told Channel 2 that he was unaware of the exact date but confirmed that they expect his release to be later this month.

The news comes on the heels of four days of violence on the Gaza border after Israel assassinated Zuhair al-Qaissi, a Gaza terrorist involved in Shalit’s kidnapping.