Abducted soldier Gilad Shalit receives letter from family, says France

Abducted Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit has received the latest letter sent to him by his family, the French team charged with delivering the letter told his father Noam this week.

Some two months ago, the elder Shalit had asked for French president Nicolas Sarkozy's assistance in delivering a letter to Gilad, who was kidnapped by Gaza militants in a cross-border raid in June 2006 and holds French citizenship.

"This is very exciting," Shalit said after being notified by Sarkozy's senior advisor. "This is the first time he has received a message from outside."

Until now Shalit's captors have refused to relay any messages from his family or the Red Cross. Noam Shalit recently held a widely covered press conference in France in which French-Jewish singer Patrick Bruel participated as well.