Deaths and ransoming of Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin

On July 21, 2014, Hamas announced it had captured Israel Defense Forces soldier Oron Shaul (אורון שאול) during the Battle of Shuja'iyya. Initially Israel denied the capture, but later acknowledged it. Shaul is presumed by Israel to be dead, and there were negotiations between Israel and Hamas to exchange his body for Palestinian prisoners in Israel.

On August 1, Hamas captured Hadar Goldin (הדר גולדין) near Rafah. He is believed to have been already dead before capture.

Oron Shaul


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. Hamas rapidly claimed to have captured an IDF soldier named Aron Shaul, backing up its claim with the soldier's "photo ID and credentials". On July 21, Ron Prosor, Israel’s ambassador to the UN, denied the capture, saying "There is no kidnapped Israeli soldier and those rumors are untrue".

The IDF later confirmed that the body of Oron Shaul had not been identified among the dead found inside the vehicle. 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." According to The New York Times, "Hamas has recognized the pull such incidents have over the Israeli psyche and clearly has moved to grab hostages.

The claim that an Israeli soldier had been captured, "touched off celebrations among Palestinians in both Gaza and the West Bank", according to The Independent, which ran photos of Palestinians cheering in the streets of Ramallah. According to The New York Times, "Celebrations immediately broke out in Gaza and the West Bank."

Hamas television celebrated the purported kidnapping with a victory mocking the grief of Shaul's family and celebrating the alleged hostage-taking in song: "We've taken a second Shalit, a young, blond-haired boy."

By 22 July, spokesmen for Israel questioned the claim of capture.

On July 25, Israel confirmed that Shaul was dead.

Hadar Goldin
On 1 August during the 2014 Gaza War, Hamas militants emerged from a tunnel and attacked an Israeli patrol in Rafah. Killing two Israeli soldiers, the militants returned to Rafah through a tunnel, bringing the body of Givati Brigade Lieutenant Hadar Goldin with them. Israel at first believed that the militants had abducted Goldin and were holding him, but later determined that he had also been killed. The IDF Rabbinate later declared the Goldin deceased for the purposes of Jewish burial and grieving rituals and buried the remains.

Ransom demands for the soldiers' bodies
On August 11 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.

There was coverage of the request for Hamas to return the bodies of Shaul and Goldin in international media through the late summer and early fall of 2014.

The question of whether Israel should release convicted Palestinian militants in exchange for Hamas' agreement to release the bodies of the 2 dead soldiers ignited a heated political debate within Israel. Apparently referring to the 2 bodies, Hamas official Mushir al-Masri boasted that "Hamas has bargaining chips that forced Israel to succumb to Palestinian demands. The indirect negotiations mediated by the Egyptians may in the future lead to a new prisoner swap deal in which many Palestinian prisoners are freed." on his Facebook page.

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.