Israel says it's recovered bodies of three more hostages from Gaza

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4 hours ago

Israeli forces have recovered the bodies of three hostages who had been held in the Gaza Strip since the October 7, 2023 attack, according to the military and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The hostages were identified as 71-year-old Ofra Keidar and 21-year-old Yonatan Samerano civilians, and 19-year old soldier Shay Levinson.
All three were killed on the day of the attack, October 7, 2023, the military said.
The military did not provide any details about the recovery operation but did say the bodies were recovered on Sunday, local time.
"The campaign to return the hostages continues consistently and is happening alongside the campaign against Iran," Mr Netanyahu said in a statement.
With this latest retrieval, 50 hostages now remain in Gaza, only 20 of whom are believed to be alive.
The Hostages Families Forum, the main organisation representing families of the hostages, has repeatedly called for a deal to release the remaining captives.
"Particularly against the backdrop of current military developments and the significant achievements in Iran, we want to emphasise that bringing back the remaining 50 hostages is the key to achieving any sort of victory," it said in a statement on Sunday.
Hamas has said it will only release the remaining hostages in return for more Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
Mr Netanyahu has rejected those terms, saying Israel will continue the war until all the hostages are returned and Hamas is defeated or disarmed and sent into exile.
Around 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage during the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel, according to Israeli authorities.
The subsequent Israeli campaign against Hamas in Gaza has since killed more than 55,000 Palestinians, according to health authorities in the Hamas-run strip, displaced almost the entire 2.3 million population, plunged the enclave into humanitarian crisis and left much of the territory in ruins.
Reuters/AP