The IDF on Sunday disclosed that it carried out a covert operation in Gaza roughly a year ago to recover the body of a soldier killed and abducted during the 2014 war with Hamas, shedding new light on a long-running effort to resolve some of the country’s most painful unresolved cases from past conflicts.

The operation, dubbed Operation Red South, was conducted jointly by the IDF and Shin Bet, according to an IDF statement. The mission resulted in the recovery of the remains of Oron Shaul, a staff sergeant who was killed in combat in the Shejaiya neighborhood of Gaza City on July 20, 2014, during Operation Protective Edge. His body was subsequently taken by Hamas.

The IDF said intelligence breakthroughs came during interrogations of detainees, which produced initial information pointing to a civilian property where Shaul had been held over the years. Further intelligence gathering led Israeli security services to apprehend a key individual residing at that location.

According to the military, additional questioning by the Shin Bet yielded precise information on Shaul’s whereabouts, allowing Israeli forces to launch a targeted recovery operation. Troops from Sayeret Matkal carried out the mission, successfully retrieving Shaul’s body and returning it to Israel.

The revelation underscores Israel’s continued focus on resolving legacy cases involving soldiers whose remains were held by Hamas for years. Another such case, that of Lt. Hadar Goldin, dates back to Aug. 1, 2014, when Goldin was killed near Rafah and his body was seized by Hamas. Goldin’s remains were returned on Nov. 9, 2025, as part of a broader Gaza peace plan.

Alongside efforts to recover fallen soldiers, Israeli forces have also continued targeting individuals linked to past attacks. The IDF said that on Jan. 17 it killed Muhammad Hamed Muhammad al-Hawli, a Hamas figure who played a central role in the organization for decades.

According to the IDF, al-Hawli directed the Feb. 6, 1995, attack at the Nahal Oz checkpoint that killed Yevgeny Gromov, an Ashkelon resident who was working as a guard at the time.

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