For how long will I be in captivity? After so many years, where are the state and the people of Israel? These were the words, uttered in Hebrew, of a person believed to be Avera Mengistu, an Israeli soldier of Ethiopian origin who was captured and held in Gaza in 2014. Footage of Mengistu, looking nervous but also somewhat defiant, calling on his countrymen to end his 9-year incarceration mostly ended speculation in Israel on whether the soldier was alive or dead. The timing of the release