Israel ponders deal to bring dead soldiers home

Israel’s government gathered today to vote on an emotionally charged deal to swap a notorious Lebanese prisoner for two Israeli soldiers captured two years ago – and declared for the first time to be dead.

The Israeli Cabinet was expected to approve the deal with the Lebanese Hezbollah militant group, which has sparked a fierce public debate over whether Israel would be giving up too much or carrying out its highest commitment to its soldiers to do everything possible to bring them home if they fell into enemy hands.