Nearly a year and a half after the body of fallen IDF Staff Sergeant Oron Shaul was returned for burial in Israel, details of how it was located have now been disclosed.
A prosecutor's declaration was filed this morning (Tuesday) against Hamas terrorist Ibrahim Hilo, who personally held Shaul's body for a decade.
The intelligence breakthrough that led to the successful recovery operation stemmed from the targeted arrest of Hilo, a Hamas operative from the Shati Battalion. He had previously served as a platoon commander in the terrorist organization and, in recent years, had operated under the cover of a civilian merchant.
As part of a joint intelligence and counterterrorism effort involving the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet), the IDF Military Intelligence Directorate, and the Israel Police, Hilo emerged as someone directly involved in the case concerning the remains of the fallen soldier.
He was arrested in a special covert operation and immediately subjected to intensive interrogation by Shin Bet and police investigators. During questioning, confronted with evidence and persistent questioning, the terrorist broke down and revealed dramatic information.
He admitted that he had personally held and concealed the body and provided investigators with details and the precise location where it had been buried-inside a shop and civilian building used as cover in Gaza City.
The precise intelligence was immediately translated into an operational order. In a complex and extraordinary operation involving Shin Bet personnel, Military Intelligence, and special forces units, and under intense time pressure, forces raided the fortified target. Just minutes before an official ceasefire came into effect, the troops successfully recovered the body of Staff Sergeant Shaul.
On Thursday, the Southern District Prosecutor's Office is expected to formally file an indictment against the terrorist in the District Court in Beersheba, charging him with a long list of serious security-related offenses.