
Israel announced on Sunday that it had recovered the body of Oron Shaul, an Israeli soldier it said had been held in Gaza since 2014.
“In a covert, special operation conducted by IDF (Israel Defense Forces) and ISA (Shin Bet) special forces in Gaza, the body of fallen IDF soldier SSGT Oron Shall was recovered,” the military said in a statement on X. has been recovered.”
The IDF said he “fell in battle” on 20 July 2014 in Shijaiya during “Operation Protective Edge”, also known as the 2014 Gaza War.
“His body was kidnapped by the Hamas terrorist organization,” it added.
Cleared for publication: In a covert, special operation by IDF and ISA special forces in Gaza, the body of fallen IDF soldier SSGT Oron Shall was recovered.
Oron was killed in action in Shijaiya on 20 July 2014 during Operation Protective Edge. His body was kidnapped… pic.twitter.com/71ho74LJNV
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) January 19, 2025
“His recovery efforts, including intelligence gathering, continued for more than a decade and during this war,” it added.
Operation Protective Edge
On July 7, 2014, Israel launched an air campaign against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Israel said the operation, dubbed “Operation Protective Edge”, was launched in June and early July 2014 “in response to increasing rocket and mortar fire” from the Gaza Strip on the Israeli town, and from the Israeli side. Despite “continuous efforts” to defuse tensions from .
The conflict ended on August 26 with an unconditional ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
A new Gaza ceasefire began after a brief delay.
Israel began a cease-fire with Hamas in Gaza on Sunday, about three hours later than originally scheduled.
Implementation of the ceasefire was delayed after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said – an hour before the 0630 GMT deadline – that Hamas had provided the names of three hostages to be released on Sunday as part of the deal. Had to do.
Hamas said it was committed to a ceasefire but was unable to provide a list of hostages due to “technical field reasons”. He then shared names and a ceasefire finally began at 0915 GMT.
The initial exchange was to release three Israeli hostages in exchange for the first group of Palestinian prisoners.
Israel-Hamas Gaza Ceasefire
A total of 33 hostages taken by Hamas during its October 7, 2023 attacks on Israeli towns will be returned to Gaza during an initial 42-day ceasefire.
Under the agreement, hundreds of Palestinian prisoners will also be released from Israeli prisons.
As a result of the attack by Hamas, 1,210 people were killed, most of them civilians. Of the 251 hostages taken, 94 are still in Gaza, of whom 34 have been killed, according to the Israeli military.
Negotiations on the second phase of the agreement will begin on the 16th day after the first phase and are likely to include the release of all remaining hostages.
The third phase is expected to include the return of all remaining bodies and the start of reconstruction in Gaza.