That was the heartfelt plea from the captured sergeant's family to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert this week.

At tearful ceremonies to mark his third birthday in captivity - Gilad is now 22 - they begged the Israeli government to turn its attention to Shalit's release.

But even as they spoke, a ministerial panel was set to draw up a list of 450 more prisoners to be freed - on top of the 199 who were released last week as a "goodwill gesture" to Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas.

Shalit was 19 when he was captured in a cross-border raid by Gaza militants linked with Hamas in June, 2006. Two other Israeli soldiers were killed in the raid.

Israelis gathered at a Gaza crossing to mark the soldier's birthday, holding a banner that read: "The struggle is not over until Gilad is back."

Negotiations for his release have sputtered. Hamas demands freedom of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in exchange, but Israel rejects many of the names on the list, saying they were involved in deadly attacks.

Other sympathisers gathered at the soldier's home in Mitzpe Hila and a demonstration was held in Tel Aviv with crowds calling on the government to increase efforts towards securing Shalit's release.

Other protests were held in different parts of the world - including London where, in the shadow of Big Ben, supporters urged Britons not to forget Shalit.

Gilad's despairing father Noam said of the Israeli government: "It's as if no one cares. Olmert is busy with other things, and the bottom line is that right now no one is doing anything to bring Gilad home."