Thousands gather for a memorial service in the northern village of Poriya for St.-Sgt. Oron Shaul, 30 days after his death in the Gaza Strip.
The location of his body is still unknown, and it is believed Hamas fighters snatched it during the bitter fighting in Shejaiya.
Hamas claimed they kidnapped him alive, but Israel determined he was killed in action.
A park and soccer field are dedicated in his name at the ceremony. In addition to comrades from Golani, families of other soldiers killed in the incident attend, as do the family of Ehud Goldwasser, kidnapped and killed by Hezbollah in 2006 at the start of the Second Lebanon War.
Rafi Peretz, the IDF’s chief rabbi, is also in attendance, as is Sara Netanyahu, wife of the PM.
Oron’s father, Peretz, asks the attendees to “carry the prayer that Oron will not be forgotten, and that his body be brought for burial in Israel speedily in our days,” Ynet reports.
St.-Sgt. Oron Shaul, whose death in Gaza on July 20, 2014, was formally confirmed by the IDF on July 25, 2014. (photo credit: Courtesy)
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