Zehava Shaul, mother of Golani Brigade fighter Sergeant Oron Shaul, passed away today (Friday) after a battle with a serious illness.
Zehava A. passed away about a year and a half after her son's body was returned to Israel in a special operation by the IDF and the Shin Bet - after a decade in which he was held by the terrorist organization Hamas.
For years, Shaul stood at the forefront of the public struggle to return her son, who was kidnapped in Gaza during Operation Protective Edge in 2014.
Together with her family, she worked with political and security officials, in Israel and around the world, to promote his return and put the issue on the public agenda.
Her husband, the late Herzl Shaul, died of a serious illness in 2016, and did not get to see his son's return to Israel for burial.
After his death, Zehava continued to lead the struggle until Oron's body was recovered by "Iron Swords", in an operation carried out on January 18, 2025.
Oron Shaul served as a soldier in the Golani Brigade, and on Independence Day 5774 he was awarded the President's Distinguished Service Medal. On July 20, 2014, he was killed in battle in Shajaiyah after the M-113 armored personnel carrier he was riding in was hit by an anti-tank missile - and his body was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists.
After his body was returned, Oron Shaul was laid to rest in the Poriya cemetery.
Her funeral will take place on Sunday at the Poriya Cemetery.
The Jordan Valley Regional Council paid tribute to Zehava, a resident of the settlement of Poriya Elite: "Zehava was a precious and noble woman, who fought for over 10 years to return her son Oron to the grave of Israel. The council embraces the family at this time and bows its head in her memory.
""Zehava will be buried in the cemetery in Poriya Illit, next to her husband Herzl, the late, and next to the grave of Oron, who just in recent days marked the first anniversary of his fall in the cemetery in the settlement. Council Chairman Idan Greenbaum accompanied the family throughout the years and expresses his condolences and hugs the sons Ofek and Aviram. May Zehava's memory be blessed.".
President Yitzhak Herzog paid tribute: "Zehava's image will be etched in the heart of the nation as a mother who never gave up on her son for a moment, and as a symbol of perseverance and hope even in the most difficult moments.".
