Israel recovers bodies of three hostages held in Gaza
The Israeli military said it recovered the remains of hostages Ofra Keidar, Yonatan Samerano and staff sergeant Shay Levinson in an operation in Gaza on Saturday, more than 20 months after they were abducted by Hamas militants.
'In a special operation … the bodies of the hostages Ofra Keidar, Yonatan Samerano and staff sergeant Shay Levinson were recovered from the Gaza Strip yesterday,' the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.
The hostage families forum said in a statement the return of the bodies 'provides some comfort to the families who have waited in agony, uncertainty, and doubt for 625 days'. The group further urged the Israeli government to return the remaining 50 hostages from Gaza, which it said was the 'key to achieving complete victory'.
The group described Samerano as 'a talented DJ who just wanted to make music, have fun, and travel'. Keidar, a 71-year-old, lived in the Be'eri kibbutz, where over a 100 people were killed.
The return of the hostages came as some of the families of those abducted feared that Israel's war with Iran, which started on 13 June, would distract from efforts to return the remaining captives. Hamas-led miltiants took 251 people hostage during its 7 October 2023 attack in Israel, as well as killing 1,200 people. Of the remaining hostages, Israel believes about 30 to be dead.
On Sunday, Israel's president, Isaac Herzog, called for the 'urgent release' of the remaining hostages after the US carried out strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
'This brave step serves the security and safety of the entire free world. I hope it will lead to a better future for the Middle East – and help advance the urgent release of our hostages held in captivity in Gaza,' Herzog wrote on X.
Some families of the hostages protested against the Israeli government's resumption of the war in Gaza in March and have said a ceasefire is the only way to safely recover those remaining. Fighting resumed after Israel declined to move to a second phase of an agreed-upon ceasefire that could have led to a permanent end to the war.
Israel continues its operations in Gaza, where more than 55,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed over the last 20 months.
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