ltcol is the israeli army spokesman, joining us on the phone with tel aviv. what can you tell us about the news that one of your soldiers has been captured. >> good morning. at this time i can't confirm the report. we are aware of it and looking into the detail. we'll be confirming, denying over the course of the day, once we have clarification. >> can you account for him, lieutenant. do you know where he is? >> i can't understand. i can't go into details until we have all. individuals are talking about individual incidents. we have to clear it up and then move on. >> let's talk about your army's operation in gaza, and the death toll, the latest of how 501 people have been killed. thousands injured. the megs of invading gaza, if it was to take out the tunnels, why are so many civilians being killed. how many tunnels have you destroyed in your ground invasion so far? >> overnight the activities continued. during the mission we have several engagements with the enemy. hamas terrorist, suicide bombers, multiple different cases with these terrists utilizing a civ

stripped of legal duties since september last year, but selected for promotion at the same time to ltcol. he said it's like having a pilot allowed to remain in the navy but told he can't fly. against. >> for a lot of people they think why should i care. they were doing something awful. why does this matter so much? >> well, first of all, i think people don't know what became of case. whether you think they committed a serious crime, you should be disappointed if the cases were not prosecuted properly. if they were in the as serious as some thought. you should be upset. that the general ordered them crushed. this tells the outcome of a case na people have not heard about. the prosecutors in the interview explains in america, of course, in this system of justice, it doesn't matter what you are accused of, you are entitled to a fair trial and due process. a politician can't come in, a general can't come in and say this is how a case has to go. in america, that's unusual. >> terrific reporting, cheryl atkinson, thank you for coming on al jazeera america, we appreciate it. >> you're welcome.

army, ltcol, and they denied that they worked with the militias, and said the three men were releasedarmed, according to their information. we have eyewitnesss seeing them killed, and militia commander who admitted to killing them himself, and the u.n. conducts its own investigation to core rob rate the killings. >> if the u.s. denied the deaths, how do we know. you said there's the corroboration out there, and it makes you wonder why the u.s. is holding on to the line. >> well, i am sure that the press officer - he was told that they were released unharmed. >> i see. >> i think it goes to show how often the abuses happen without anyone really noticing. i mean, in is one case where we are able to do after a lengthy and difficult, dangerous investigation. think of how many incidents could be taking place around the country that are never investigated or reported, because these units are operating with that oversight. they are mentored and managed by special forces with a secretive culture. and so i think a story like this costs a light into a dark corner of the war. it explains a lot.