Deaths and ransoming of Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin

This page is subject to the extended confirmed restriction related to the Arab-Israeli conflict.On July 21, 2014, Hamas announced it had captured Israel Defense Forces soldier Oron Shaul (Hebrew: אורון שאול) during the Battle of Shuja'iyya.

[3][4] During the Battle of Shuja'iyya on July 20, 2014, Hamas fired an anti-tank missile at an IDF armored personnel carrier carrying 7 soldiers, including Oron Shaul.

[9][10][11] Shaul's fate was the focus of great concern during the short period when it was feared that he had been taken captive, because, according to the Associated Press, "In the past, Israel has paid a heavy price in lopsided prisoner swaps to retrieve captured soldiers or remains held by its enemies.

[16] On 1 August during the 2014 Gaza War, Givati Brigade Lieutenant Hadar Goldin reportedly was taking part in an operation to decommission a tunnel belonging to militants.

[21] On August 11, 2014 Israeli Minister of Defense Moshe Ya'alon visited the Shaul family to inform them that the government was making every effort to retrieve their son's body from Hamas.

[24][25][26][27] Ongoing negotiations for the exchange of Palestinian prisoners held in Israel for the bodies of the 2 MIAs have been the focus of international press coverage in late 2014.

However, the families of Shaul and Goldin had to fight for their sons and those previously captured by Hamas to be included on the IDFs official count of hostages.

[36] In July 2023, the families of Shaul, Goldin, Avera Mengistu, and Hisham al-Sayed visited Geneva, Switzerland and met with the UN Human Rights Chief Volker Turk and the vice-president of the International Committee of the Red Cross Gilles Carbonnier to speak on behalf of their relatives.

[37] In December 2023, IDF troops destroyed Palestine Square in Gaza City along with a statue reportedly erected by Hamas which showed a fist emerging from an armored personnel carrier holding ID tags one of which is styled to mimic Oron Shauls.