Mother of Slain Hostage Confronts Netanyahu, Blames Him for Son's Death

Maayan Sherman, the mother of Sergeant Ron Sherman, who was abducted on October 7th and later died of suffocation in Hamas tunnels due to an IDF bombing, confronted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday at a mall in Be'er Sheva. Sherman shouted at Netanyahu, "You murdered my son," and also used a profanity. She called for a state commission of inquiry into the failures that led to the incident.

Sherman stated she came to meet Netanyahu because he had been "running away" from her for three years and was "afraid to approach me." She expressed her "honor" in finally meeting him face-to-face to tell him what she thinks. She accused him of abandoning 43 hostages and questioned how he could have ordered the execution of her son, who was part of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) unit. Sherman claimed her son transferred "suitcases of dollars to Sinwar" under Netanyahu's orders and questioned why she had to "chase Netanyahu" to speak with him.

An IDF investigation determined that Sergeant Ron Sherman, Sergeant Nick Beiser, and Sergeant Elia Toledano, all abducted to Gaza on October 7th and whose bodies were returned in December 2023, suffocated to death due to gas in a tunnel where they were held. The investigation concluded this was a result of an IDF attack.