Remains of three Israeli hostages recovered from Gaza
The Israeli military says it has recovered the remains of three hostages held in the Gaza Strip. It identified them as Yonatan Samerano, 21; Ofra Keidar, 70; and Shay Levinson, 19.
All three were killed during Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack into Israel that ignited the ongoing war. The militant group is still holding 50 hostages, less than half of them believed to be alive.
Kobi Samerano said in a Facebook post that his son's remains were returned on what would have been Yonatan's 23rd birthday.
"The campaign to return the hostages continues consistently and is happening alongside the campaign against Iran," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement.
Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251 people in the October 7 attack. More than half the hostages have been returned in ceasefire agreements or other deals, eight have been rescued alive and Israeli forces have recovered dozens of bodies.
Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed over 55,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which has said that women and children make up more than half of the dead. It does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ABC News
40 minutes ago
- ABC News
Israel says it's recovered bodies of three more hostages from Gaza
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
SBS Australia
an hour ago
- SBS Australia
Remains of three hostages recovered, GHF admits Gazans 'desperately' need more aid
The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) says it has recovered the remains of three hostages held in the Gaza Strip. It identified them as Yonatan Samerano, 21; Ofra Keidar, 70; and Shay Levinson, 19. Kobi Samerano said in a Facebook post that his son's remains were returned on what would have been Yonatan's 23rd birthday. "The campaign to return the hostages continues consistently and is happening alongside the campaign against Iran," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement. Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251 people in the October 7 attack. More than half the hostages have been returned in ceasefire agreements or other deals, eight have been rescued alive and Israeli forces have recovered dozens of bodies. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed over 55,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel's air and ground war in Gaza, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. More than half of the Palestinian victims are children and women, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Meanwhile, the US and Israeli-backed aid organisation brought in to distribute food rations in Gaza last month said on Saturday that people in the Palestinian territory "desperately need more aid". The admission by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) that it has been unable to meet demand came after severe criticism from other aid groups and near-daily deadly shootings near distribution points. Gaza's civil defence agency said Saturday that Israeli troops had killed at least 17 people, including eight who were seeking food in the territory, which is suffering from famine-like conditions due to Israeli restrictions, according to aid groups. In a statement on Saturday, GHF interim executive director John Acree said that the organisation was "delivering aid at scale, securely and effectively ... But we cannot meet the full scale of need while large parts of Gaza remain closed." He said the GHF was "working with the government of Israel to honour its commitment and open additional sites in northern Gaza". "The people of Gaza desperately need more aid and we are ready to partner with other humanitarian groups to expand our reach to those who need help the most," Acree said. GHF's operations have been slammed as a "failure" by the United Nations, while other aid groups have raised concerns about the group's opaque structure and neutrality in the conflict that has been raging since October 2023. According to figures issued Saturday by the Gaza Health Ministry, at least 450 people have been killed and nearly 3,500 injured by Israeli fire since GHF began distributing meal boxes in late May. GHF has denied responsibility for deaths near its aid points, contradicting statements from witnesses and Gaza rescue services. It has said deaths have occurred near UN food convoys.
Sky News AU
2 hours ago
- Sky News AU
Netanyahu's ‘greatest success' is destroying Iran's nuclear capabilities
Former Israeli government spokesperson Eylon Levy says Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's 'greatest success' is destroying Iran's nuclear weapon program. 'We were invaded by Hamas it was the worst failure of his premiership,' Mr Levy said. 'That has now led to the greatest success of his leadership, which is the destruction of the Iranian nuclear program.'
