An indictment was filed on Tuesday against Ibrahim Hilo, the terrorist responsible for holding St.-Sgt. Oron Shaul‘s body in Gaza for nearly 10 years, after a joint investigation by the Israel Police’s Lahav 433, the Shin Bet, and the IDF revealed his involvement in the kidnapping and holding of the fallen soldier’s remains.
Hilo was captured during a secret operation, and before the retrieval of St.-Sgt. Shaul, while the information acquired after interrogating him was key to locating and bringing the remains back to Israel.
Hilo was part of Hamas’s Shati Battalion and, according to the investigation conducted by the Shin Bet and Lahav 433, held the remains of St.-Sgt. Shaul for nearly ten years.
The indictment, filed by the Southern District Attorney’s Office to the Beersheba District Court, accuses Hilo of serious security offenses.
Secret operation to rescue St.-Sgt. Shaul
On July 20, 2014, Shaul, 20, entered the Shejaia neighborhood near Gaza City in an armored personnel carrier (APC) with six other soldiers. The APC was struck by a Kornet anti-tank missile fired by Hamas, killing all those inside.
The secret operation, which involved Shayetet 13 and other special forces, was carried out in January 2025 from somewhere in northern Gaza and announced just before the Israel-Hamas ceasefire had taken effect.
“I am in shock,” Zehava Shaul, Oron’s mother, said during a press conference after the announcement of her son’s remains retrieval. “I’ve been waiting for Oron for 10 and a half years. And believe me, I didn’t believe I would see this moment.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commented on the operation after it was cleared for publication, saying, “In a special operation conducted by the Shin Bet and the IDF just before the ceasefire took effect, we successfully brought back to Israel the body of Golani Brigade soldier Oron Shaul, of blessed memory.
Yonah Jeremy Bob contributed to this report.
