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Staff Sgt. Oron Shaul, who was killed and captured by Hamas during the 2014 Gaza conflict, was laid to rest on Monday in his hometown of Poria Illit, located near the Sea of Galilee.
The funeral came after a successful covert operation by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Shin Bet security agency, which resulted in the recovery of his remains from the Gaza Strip over the weekend.
Thousands gathered to pay their respects, including President Isaac Herzog and National Unity party leader MK Benny Gantz.
Gantz, who served as the IDF chief of staff during Operation Protective Edge, was present at the ceremony and expressed his condolences to Shaul’s grieving family.
Herzog, in a heartfelt speech, apologized to the Shaul family for the long years of anguish they endured while waiting for their son’s return.
“Dear Shaul family, in the name of the entire State of Israel, I ask forgiveness — for the years of torture you went through, for the waiting for your son and brother to return,” Herzog stated. “Years that we did not fulfill our mission, our responsibility — to return him here, to the cradle of his birth.”
Oron Shaul was killed on July 20, 2014, during Operation Protective Edge, when Hamas operatives ambushed an IDF armored personnel carrier (APC) in the Shejaiya neighborhood of Gaza City.
Seven soldiers were killed in the attack, and Shaul’s body was taken by Hamas militants. Despite repeated efforts by Israel to bring him home, his remains remained in Gaza for nearly a decade.
Shaul was buried alongside his father, Herzl Shaul, who passed away in 2016 without seeing his son’s body returned.
Herzl Shaul had spent his final months protesting outside the Israeli Prime Minister’s office, demanding that the government take action to recover his son’s remains.
In his remarks at the funeral, Herzog also referenced the larger context of the ongoing conflict, saying, “A decade has passed, and we are still forced to send our best sons and daughters to fight against those abominable enemies.”
He also vowed to bring home all Israeli hostages currently held in Gaza, including Avera Mengistu, Hisham al-Sayed, and the body of IDF soldier Hadar Goldin, who was killed in 2014 and whose remains are still held by Hamas.
Zehava Shaul, Oron’s mother, shared an emotional statement during the ceremony. “I waited for so many years for you to come home from captivity,” she said.
“I never believed this day would come.” Oron’s brother, Ofek, also spoke, expressing disbelief that the long-awaited day had finally arrived.
“My Oron, after so many years passed I can’t believe it is happening… I can’t absorb that you are here and we are parting from you.”
The operation to recover Shaul’s remains was a joint effort by several elite units of the IDF, including the Navy’s Shayetet 13 commando unit.
The body was brought back to Israel on Sunday, just hours before a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took effect, halting the 15-month-long war that began in October 2023 with the deadly Hamas attack on southern Israel.
In the aftermath of the recovery, Herzog reiterated his commitment to bringing home all hostages and the remains of those still held by Hamas, underscoring the need to bring closure to the families affected by the conflict.