New details were revealed on Wednesday evening about the dramatic operation to recover the body of IDF soldier Oron Shaul, which was carried out by a special unit of the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) and Shayetet 13.
According to a report on Channel 12 News, the rescue took place just hours before the ceasefire in Gaza came into effect, after intelligence was received regarding the location of the body.
The head of the IDF Southern Command decided to proceed with the operation despite recommendations to avoid it due to the high risk involved. Before the operation began, special forces conducted an intelligence operation deep within the Gaza Strip and returned with information.
After a situational assessment, in which concerns were raised that failure of the operation might affect the ceasefire agreement, the brave decision was made that the operation would be launched at midnight.
The special force entered the Strip at 10:00 p.m., with the identity of the body being extracted kept a secret and revealed to only three commanders. During the operation, an unexpected difficulty arose that threatened to jeopardize the mission's success, but thanks to the ingenuity of the soldiers, it was completed successfully.
Contrary to initial assessments, the body was not found in a tunnel but among the civilian population, in a place where it had likely been held for years without being moved. At 1:00 a.m., after being successfully extracted, the body was transferred to Israel for identification.
Shortly thereafter, the head of the Southern Command ordered the commander of Shayetet 13, "Oron is in our hands, update your soldiers about who was rescued tonight."