Grieving Mother of IDF Soldier Killed In Gaza Makes a Public Plea
The family of an IDF soldier who was declared killed-in-action during operation Protective Edge in the summer of 2014, appealed to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reexamine their son’s status on Sunday, December 13.
Oron Shaul, a Golani Brigade soldier whose APC was hit by Hamas missiles in Gaza, was killed along with six other comrades on July 30, 2014 according to the IDF. However, Shaul’s body was never recovered and following an IDF forensic investigation he was declared “deceased; burial place unknown.”
The appeal to reexamine Shaul’s status came during a press conference organized by his mother, Zehava Shaul, at her family’s home in the Galilee.
“A year and a half has passed since Protective Edge and despite efforts, the bottom line is that we see no results. My son, Oron, never came back,” Zehava Shaul said during the press conference.
“It’s important for me to emphasize that so far we have no solid and reliable information that Oron is alive or dead, and we are in a state of uncertainty.”
The emotional press conference was assembled after the Shaul family received a letter earlier that Sunday morning from the Hamas militant organization ruling in Gaza. The letter was allegedly penned by Oron Shaul himself, where he relayed to his family that he is alive and being held captive by Hamas, and begged for his release.
“My dearest mother, I hear it raining all around me but I cannot see or hear it. I keep waiting for happy news that will bring me back to you. I want to be freed from captivity, and though I don’t deny I have been treated gently, I fear you have forgotten me, which fills my heart with much sadness and despair,” reads part of the letter whose authenticity is questioned by the family and IDF officials alike.
The bereaved mother also addressed Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, saying “I want to believe you, that you will present us with solid proof-of-life, just as you did with Gilad Shalit. If you do that, we will turn heaven and earth to secure a deal.”
According to the IDF, Hamas is holding the bodies of two soldiers killed in Operation Protective Edge, Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin.
Hamas has claimed several times in the past that Oron Shaul is still alive and captive without ever providing physical evidence of his condition.
Contradictory to this latest Hamas claim, on November 4, Khaled Mashaal, the political leader of the Hamas issued a press release in which he is quoted as saying “we will return the bodies of Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul in exchange for Marwan Barghouti and Ahmad Saadat.”
Saadat and Barghouti are two convicted Hamas terrorists with blood on their hands, currently imprisoned in Israel.