The Israeli military said Friday that it had recovered the bodies of three Israeli hostages captured while fleeing a music festival in the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack on southern Israel.
Israeli military spokesman Maj. Gen. Daniel Hagari identified the bodies as those of Amit B'skira, Shani Luke and Yitzhak Geranter. He said Israeli forces recovered the bodies during an operation in Gaza on Thursday night, but did not say where the bodies were found.
Admiral Hagari said all three were at the Tribe of Nova Trance music festival on October 7, where at least 360 people were killed. During the raid, they fled the festival and headed to Mefalsim, a kibbutz in southern Israel. Admiral Hagari said Palestinian militants discovered them there, killed them and took their bodies back to Gaza.
This photo combination provided by the Hostage Families Forum headquarters shows Yitzhak Gelernter, Shani Luuk, and Amit Baskila.Credit… Hostage Families Forum Headquarters, Associated Press
The recovery of the remains highlighted growing anxiety among relatives of hostages over how many of their loved ones are still alive after seven months of war in Gaza. A growing number of Israelis are criticizing the Netanyahu government for being too slow to reach an agreement with Hamas to secure the release of the remaining prisoners.
According to Israeli authorities, about 125 living and dead hostages abducted on October 7 remain in Gaza, including several Americans. Israel and Hamas have been in indirect negotiations with the aim of reaching an agreement to release at least some hostages in exchange for a ceasefire.
White House Press Secretary John F. Kirby said in Washington on Friday that he had no new information about the safety or whereabouts of the several Americans who were taken on October 7.
Luke, a 23-year-old German-Israeli man, became a symbol of the brutality of the devastating attack. Shortly after October 7, Hamas released a video of a woman lying face down, almost naked, in the back seat of a pickup truck in Gaza. Luke's mother said she believed it was her daughter because of her dreadlocks and tattoos.
In late October, Luke's family said Israeli authorities had confirmed that she had been murdered. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz publicly mourned her death, saying at the time that she “shows the complete barbarity behind the Hamas attack and who must be held accountable.”
Baskira, who was 27 when he was abducted, called his family the morning of the attack and whispered that he was “surrounded by terrorists,” his uncle Shimon Atiyas said on Israeli television in late October. Ta. “She said to me, 'Simon, I'm dying, I love you.'” After that, we had no information about her fate. ”
Gelernter, known as Itzik, is a resident of central Israel and turned 56 on October 7. In an interview with Israeli news media in February, his son Assaf described Gelernter as a devoted father and grandfather and a widely devoted man. Beloved. “He was young at heart,” Assaf Gelernter said. He added: “He was enjoying life and he loved life.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu mourned the “terrible loss” of the three hostages in a statement. “We will return all hostages, both living and dead,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
Izzat al-Rishq, a senior Hamas official, declined to confirm whether the hostages had indeed been recovered by Israel, but said on the messaging app Telegram, “I am grateful for the kind of exchanges that dignify and respect our people and our resistance.'' Otherwise, the enemy will simply take prisoners.” Like a lifeless corpse. ”
The Israeli military said in a statement that Israeli soldiers and intelligence agents recovered the bodies of the hostages during the mission, based on information obtained from interrogation of captured Palestinian militants.
Israel and Hamas have been negotiating indirectly through intermediaries for months over a ceasefire agreement that would secure the release of the remaining hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. In late November, 105 hostages were released during a week-long ceasefire between the two countries.
Just two weeks ago, officials familiar with the talks expressed hope that a deal could be reached quickly. But negotiations have stalled, and the two countries remain wide apart on key issues, including Israel's insistence that it is still planning a large-scale attack on the southern city of Rafah.
“The return of their bodies is a stark reminder that we must bring back all our brothers and sisters from cruel captivity without delay. Those who are alive must be rehabilitated,” the Hostage Families Forum headquarters said in a statement. , those who were killed need to be given a proper burial.” A group representing many of the relatives of prisoners of war.
Katie Rogers contributed from Washington.
Corrections have been made to
May 17, 2024
:
Due to an editing error, an earlier version of this article incorrectly listed Shani Luke's age. She was 23, not 22.
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