Netanyahu Attends Funeral of Father Whose Fallen Soldier Son’s Remains Still Held by Hamas

The Algemeiner reports: Israel’s prime minister, defense minister, president and the IDF chief of staff were among the hundreds of mourners who gathered on Sunday to pay their last respects to the father of one of the IDF soldiers whose remains are still in the hands of Hamas, the Hebrew news site nrg reported.

Herzl Shaul died on Friday after a long battle with cancer, but eulogies at his funeral at the Poriya Cemetery focused on an equally painful fight in which he had been engaged since his son, Oron, was abducted and killed by the terrorists who run the Gaza Strip during Operation Protective Edge in the summer of 2014.

Another one of Shaul’s sons, Aviram, spoke about the tough – “mainly sad” — period the family has had to contend with since receiving the news about Oron’s death.

“I remember the moment that we were told that Oron was on the armored personnel carrier when his comrades were ambushed and killed by terrorists,” Aviram said.

“I entered the house, which was already filled with people. I went downstairs quickly, so nobody would notice me, and you hugged me and, choking up with tears, you said, ‘How did they take our Oron? What will we do now?’ And I answered, ‘Don’t worry; it’ll be all right.’ What I didn’t realize at the time was how much more complicated the situation would grow with each passing day.’