Israel says missing soldier definitely dead, body not found

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - The Israeli army announced on Friday that a soldier unaccounted for after an ambush in the Gaza Strip six days ago was definitely dead, although they had still not recovered his body. Islamist militant group Hamas said last Sunday it had captured Oron Shaul, giving his name and army ID number, but did not release a photograph of him in their hands. The Israeli military said a special committee had reviewed all the information available to them and had decided that Shaul did not survive the assault, which killed six other soldiers. "The committee concluded that Staff Sergeant Oron Shaul is defined 'a soldier killed in action whose burial site is unknown'," it said in a statement. (Reporting by Crispian Balmer; Editing by Giles Elgood)