Israeli military finds bodies of 3 hostages held by Hamas in Gaza
Despite ongoing efforts, Hamas is believed to hold around 50 hostages, with thousands of casualties reported on both sides since the conflict escalated.
The Israeli military has recovered the bodies of three hostages, including the 21-year-old Yonatan Samerano, who were held in the Gaza Strip.
"Yesterday was Yonati's Hebrew birthday. On his 23rd birthday, the day he was born, our Yonati was rescued in the heroic operation of the IDF and the heroic GSS soldiers,” Yonatan's father, Kobi Samerano, said in a Facebook post.
“From the first moment, I believed, with all my heart, that our army would return my son. I didn't stop believing, and so it happened,” added Kobi Samerano on his Facebook post, as he further expressed gratitude towards the Israeli government, the Prime Minister, the country's security forces and the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) soldiers.
The other two bodies have been identified as those of Ofra Keidar (70), and Shay Levinson (19). All of them were killed during Hamas' attack on Israel on Oct 7, 2023, that triggered the ongoing war-like situation.
According to a report by The Jerusalem Post, Levinson was a tank commander in the 77th "Oz" Battalion in the 7th Armoured Brigade, and was taken by Hamas when the terrorists crossed the border in the early hours of Oct 7. His tank managed to kill around 15 terrorists with shells before being overwhelmed.
Hamas is still believed to hold around 50 hostages, more than half of which are assumed to be dead.
“The campaign to return the hostages continues consistently and is happening alongside the campaign against Iran,” said Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a statement.
According to a report by AP, on the Oct 7 attack, militants from Hamas had abducted around 251 and killed over 1,200 people, that comprised mostly civilians. A large number of the hostages were returned during the past ceasefire agreements.
