Remains of IDF soldier killed in 2014 found in Gaza, returned to Israel

IDF Staff Sgt. Oron Shaul was killed during fighting between Israel and Hamas in 2014, and his body was seized by terrorists and held in the Gaza Strip for over a decade.

By World Israel News Staff

The remains of an IDF soldier killed while fighting against Hamas terrorists in 2014 and held captive in the Gaza Strip for over a decade have been located by Israeli forces operating in the coastal enclave, the Israeli military announced Sunday morning.

Oron Shaul, a 20-year-old IDF soldier, was fatally wounded after the armored personnel carrier he was riding in was struck by an anti-tank projectile fired by Hamas terrorists in the Shuja’iyya neighborhood of Gaza City.

The remains of six other soldiers killed in the attack on the vehicle were later recovered by the IDF.

However, terrorists pulled Shaul’s remains from the wreckage of the destroyed APC and held them captive, along with the remains of Hadar Goldin, another IDF soldier killed during the fighting.

On Sunday, Israel’s military and the Shin Bet internal security agency issued a joint statement announcing that Shaul’s remains had been located in the Gaza Strip during a recent operation, adding that the slain soldier’s body was returned to Israel.

“Efforts to retrieve him, including the gathering of information and intelligence by the Prisoners and Missing Persons Headquarters and the Special Operations Division in Military Intelligence, have continued over the past decade, with intensified efforts during the war,” the IDF and Shin Bet said in the joint statement.

“Following an identification process conducted by the Institute of Forensic Medicine and the Military Rabbinate, IDF and Shin Bet representatives informed the family this morning,” the statement read.

“The IDF and Shin Bet express their condolences to the family and will continue to support them.”

Sunday’s announcement did not provide details regarding where in Gaza Shaul’s body was found or when or how the operation was conducted.

In a statement released Sunday morning, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lauded the IDF and Shin Bet forces involved in the operation.

“In a special IDF and ISA operation, before the ceasefire takes effect, we returned to Israel the remains of Golani Brigade fighter Oron Shaul,” said Netanyahu.

“I embrace the dear members of the Shaul family and commend the IDF and ISA forces for their resourcefulness and their bravery.

“The photographs of Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin, of blessed memory, who fell during Operation Protective Edge in 2014, have been before me in my office for many years as daily testimony to my commitment to bring them back home.

“We have completed the mission to bring back Oron and will not rest until we also complete the mission to bring back Hadar Goldin. We will continue to act to return all of our hostages, the living and the deceased.”