Dying father pens farewell letter to soldier son whose body is held by Hamas

The family of a fallen IDF soldier whose body is being held by Hamas on Sunday released a letter to him penned by his father, who died last week.

Herzl Shaul, who discovered 10 months ago that he was dying of cancer, wrote the letter days before he was hospitalized for the final time, Channel 10 television reported.

The letter shows Herzl never lost hope that 22-year-old Oron, killed during the 2014 war in Gaza, would one day return.

It outlines a father’s desire to see his son again, imagining the phone call telling him that Oron was alive. He writes of his pride in his son, and of the support given to the family by the entire nation.

“My Oron, my hero son, my mighty warrior, since you left, my body started to betray me,” Herzl Shaul wrote. “I cannot lie. My physical condition could be better, but unfortunately it gets a little worse every day. Even so, I continue to be strong and to believe.”

Herzl also wrote of his faith that one day his son return home, wounded but still alive.

“I cannot give up because I want to make it to the moment I have been dreaming of since the day you were taken, the moment when the prime minister and IDF chief of staff call me and say: ‘Herzl, Sergeant Oron Shaul of the Golani Brigade is coming home from the war tonight.’

“I imagine how, immediately after the phone call, I will give the good news to your mother, to [brothers] Aviram and Ofek; tell them that you are coming back to us in a few hours. Even though you may be wounded and exhausted, a captive with a long rehabilitation process ahead of you, you will be home. This movie keeps running through my head and keeps me strong.”

Herzl Shaul also wrote of the support from the Israeli public in the wake of the 50-day war.

“My beloved Oron, if you see this letter when you return, they will certainly tell you the difficult times that we suffered until you returned from captivity, the lies and manipulations of all those people we used to value and admire. But my request is that you bear no grudge or anger. Do you know why? Because there is no nation on earth like the Jewish people.

“Since you were taken,” Herzl Shaul wrote, “hundreds of thousands of people who have never met you or know you, from the north to the south, all reached out and helped, showering us with genuine endless love. Simply because you were sent to war to protect them.”

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Herzl also urged his son to give back to others the care and love that his family had received.

“I am certain that this wonderful nation will not allow your mother and your brothers to be lonely for a moment, even if I do succumb to this disease. Do not ever forget this. You should be proud of this nation, and I expect when you return that you will help and give in every possible way to others who are in need of help.”

The bereaved father ended with the admission that although his wife had tried to stop their son from joining the Golani combat unit, he had actually been proud — but now regretted that he had not fought harder to push him in a different direction.

“My dear Oron, I have a confession. I remember when you told us that you were enlisting in Golani, and your mother pleaded with you to change your mind because it was too dangerous. You should just know that even though I did not say it, in my heart I was proud and happy. I want to apologize to you my dear son, that I didn’t listen to your mother.”

Following Herzl Shaul’s death on September 2, both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman vowed to do everything in their power to return the bodies of both Staff Sgt. Shaul and Lt. Hadar Goldin, whose remains are also being held by Hamas.