The bodies of three hostages kidnapped by Hamas have been recovered from the Gaza Strip by the Israeli military.
The hostages were identified as 22-year-old Shani Louk, 28-year-old Amit Bouskila and 56-year-old Itzhak Gelerenter, IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a press conference in Tel Aviv. All three were taken hostage on October 7 and were killed while escaping the Nova music festival and their bodies taken into Gaza.
The bodies were identified by the authorities and the families were informed, Hagari said, adding that the bodies were handed over to medical professionals for forensic examination. However, Hagari did not reveal the location of the bodies during the press conference, but added that the bodies were discovered during a joint IDF and Shin Bet operation.
Of the three hostages, the Israeli government had previously confirmed the death of only 23-year-old German-Israeli woman Louk, who was declared dead by Israel’s Foreign Ministry in late October. Her lifeless body was seen in a video on the back of a Hamas truck after the attack on the music festival and was one of the first images to emerge after 7 October, when the scale of the horror of the attacks became clear.
Also, Amit Bouskila was abducted from the Nova music festival as she tried to hide between cars. Itshak Gelernter arrived at the party just a couple of hours before the attack began. A few days later, the IDF notified the family that his phone was in the Gaza Strip, leading the military to believe he had been taken hostage.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a statement to X, saying: “My wife Sarah and I are hurting with the families. All our hearts are with them at their time of heavy grief. We will return all of our hostages, living and dead. I congratulate our brave forces that in a determined action returned Israel’s sons and daughters home.”
In the 7 October attack, Hamas-led militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and about 240 people were taken hostage and moved to Gaza. Just over 100 people were released in a release agreement in November, but the IDF believed that 132 hostages, 128 of whom were taken on 7 October, were still being held in the Gaza Strip. The IDF believed that of those 132 hostages, 40 are presumed dead, including two taken in 2014.
A deal to secure the release of the remaining hostages has remained elusive for months, despite rounds of talks between Israeli and Hamas negotiating teams.
“The return of their bodies is a painful and stark reminder that we must swiftly bring back all our brothers and sisters from their cruel captivity – the living to rehabilitation, and the murdered to a proper burial,” the Hostages Families Forum Headquarters said in a statement.
First shipment of humanitarian aid across the pier in the Gaza Strip
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) recognised the aid movement in a statement, saying the first aid arrived in Gaza at 9am. It said no US military personnel disembarked during the operation. The shipment is the first in an operation that the US military expects could increase the number of trucks to 150 per day entering the Gaza Strip.
US President Joe Biden announced on Friday the successful arrival of the first shipments of aid to the Gaza Strip through the multinational humanitarian pier: “Earlier today, the first shipments of humanitarian assistance arrived on the shores of Gaza through the multinational humanitarian pier thanks to the tireless work of CENTCOM and our teams at USAID and the State Department.”
According to him, the USAID-assisted aid includes 170 metric tonnes of nutrient-rich food bars that will potentially support 11,000 vulnerable children and adults.
Biden emphasised the urgency of addressing the dire situation facing the Palestinian population, stressing the critical need to accelerate the delivery of aid to those most in need. He reaffirmed co-operation with Israel to increase the flow of aid to Gaza via land routes, stressing the commitment to intensify humanitarian efforts in the region.
Despite, President Joe Biden has become increasingly critical of Netanyahu’s handling of the war and Gaza, going so far as to suspend some arms shipments to Israel over concerns about the IDF’s plans for Rafah. Earlier, the Biden Administration released a report stating that investigations into potential Israeli violations of international law continue.
The Israel-Hamas conflict has been going on for more than six months, since then over 35,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli campaign after attack in the Gaza Strip, according to Gaza health officials.
