The mother of a fallen IDF soldier whose remains were retrieved from Gaza last year has died, her municipality announced on Friday.
Zehava Shaul, 71, died from a sustained illness and will be buried in Poriah Ilit near the Sea of Galilee alongside her late husband Herzl and her fallen son, Staff Sgt. Oron Shaul, the Jordan Valley Regional Council said in a statement.
Oron Shaul was killed in 2014’s “Operation Protective Edge” and his remains were held by Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip for more than 10 years before their retrieval in January 2025. Shaul’s remains were rescued in a special covert operation of the IDF and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency).
Israeli President Isaac Herzog said in a statement: “We received with profound sorrow the news of the passing of Zahava Saul of blessed memory—a courageous, determined, and inspiring mother, who devoted more than a decade to an unrelenting struggle to bring her son.”
Isaac Herzog said he and his wife, Michal Herzog, “were privileged to accompany Zahava and the Saul family over the years, up to the painful and earth-shattering moment when Oron was laid to rest, after more than ten years of waiting, pain, and longing.”
Zahava’s figure “will be etched in the heart of the nation as a mother who never for a moment gave up on her son, and as a symbol of perseverance and hope even in the most difficult moments. May her memory be a blessing,” Herzog wrote.
