IDF Recovers Body of Fallen Soldier Oron Shaul from Gaza

In a recent clandestine operation in the Gaza Strip, Israeli troops recovered the body of soldier Staff Sgt. Oron Shaul, who was killed and captured by Hamas in 2014, the military announced.

The operation to recover the body was carried out jointly by the IDF and the Shin Bet security agency, with several special forces units including the Navy’s Shayetet 13 commando unit and another elite force in the Military Intelligence Directorate.

The IDF does not detail when the operation happened, or in which part of Gaza the body was found.
Shaul’s body was brought back to Israel and taken to the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute where it was identified. His family was then informed.

On July 20, 2014, amid the 2014 Gaza War, troops of the Golani Brigade’s 13th Battalion entered Gaza City’s Shejaiya neighborhood in an M-113 armored personnel carrier. The APC got stuck in one of the neighborhood’s narrow streets, and during attempts to extract it, it came under attack by Hamas operatives launching anti-tank missiles.

Seven soldiers were killed in the incident, including Shaul, whose body was dragged away from the scene by Hamas operatives. His body had been held by Hamas up until recently.