Mother of missing Israeli soldier has begged officials for his return

The mother of an Israeli soldier held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip since 2014 has revealed that she has begged officials to have him returned to his home, Ynet News reported on Monday.

Oron Shaul was one of two soldiers captured by the resistance movement during the latest of Israel’s military offensives against civilians in the enclave. His mother Zehava, has vowed not to let officials turn him into “another Ron Arad”, an Israeli pilot who has been missing in action since 1986.

According to the Israeli news website, a video released by the soldier’s mother showed her explaining that she has been fighting “messianic ministers” who see her son’s absence as a matter of martyrdom or ministers “who see me as a nuisance and wait for the meeting to end.” She promised her son not to “give them the pleasure of turning me into Batya Arad, who died in sorrow without seeing her son return home from captivity.”

Shaul ended her video by saying that she is proud of her son and his service in the Golani Brigade in 2014, “while millions of civilians sat for 50 days in shelters and stairwells. I will not rest until I return you to the country you love so much.”

Read: Family of Israeli soldier lost in Gaza turns to court for information

Hamas has never said whether the two captives are alive or dead. According to the Israeli government, they are presumed to be dead. The movement has also hinted several times that it is holding another two Israeli soldiers; one is of Ethiopian origin and the other is an Arab Bedouin.

Israeli media reports claim that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that he has been making a lot of effort to get the soldiers or their remains back. In a speech delivered on Wednesday last week, the head of the Hamas Political Bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, said that a prisoner swap with Israeli may happen very soon.