Shalit family anxious to see their son

JERUSALEM, Oct. 1 (UPI) -- For the first time since his kidnapping, Noam and Aviva Shalit will see the face and hear the voice of their son in a one-minute video tape, officials said.

The videotape of the 23-year-old captive Israeli Army staff sergeant has already been handed over to Ernst Urlau, the German mediator, and Friday will be given to Hagai Hadas, the Israeli envoy charged with negotiating Shalit's release, the Yedioth Aharonoth newspaper reported Thursday.

Hadas will hand it over to Shalit's family.

It is not clear if the family will allow the video to be broadcast, the newspaper said.

Since Gilad's kidnapping by Islamic militants in June 2006, the family has received a number of letters written by their son, and also received a recorded audiotape of his voice, but never any photos attesting to his physical condition.

The video of Shalit is believed to have been made two weeks ago, the newspaper said.

"The Shalit family commends this significant achievement made by the current negotiating team headed by Hagai Hadas, and the German and Egyptian teams. We yearn to see the first authentic sign of life of Gilad," a statement issued by the Shalit family said.

Hamas official Mahmoud A-Zahar told Channel 10 Wednesday evening Shalit would speak for one minute on the videotape. Hamas spokesman Ayman Taher told the television network," if Israel wants a longer videotape of the soldier they will need to pay a high price."