Latest news with #ShayLevinson
Free Malaysia Today
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
Bodies of 3 hostages recovered in Gaza says Israeli army
Of the 251 hostages seized by Hamas, 49 are still held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead. (EPA Images pic) JERUSALEM : The Israeli military said today that it had recovered the bodies of three hostages in Gaza more than 20 months after they were abducted by Hamas rebels. 'In a special operation… the bodies of the hostages Ofra Keidar, Yonatan Samerano and staff sergeant Shay Levinson were recovered from the Gaza Strip yesterday,' the military said in a statement. Samerano's father had announced earlier today that his son's body, which was taken into Gaza after he was murdered in a kibbutz by the territory on Oct 7, 2023, had been recovered by the Israeli army. He paid tribute to 'the brave soldiers of the IDF (Israeli military) and the Shin Bet' security service in a message posted on Instagram. Keidar, a 71-year-old mother of three, was also killed in a kibbutz and abducted, while 19-year-old tank commander Levinson 'engaged and fought terrorists on the morning of October 7 and fell in combat,' a statement from the military said. The attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israel in October 2023 resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Of the 251 hostages seized during the assault, 49 are still held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead. Israel's retaliatory military campaign has killed at least 55,908 people, also mostly civilians, according to the Gaza health ministry in the Hamas-run territory. The UN considers these figures reliable.
Yahoo
23-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Israeli forces recover bodies of three hostages from Gaza
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli forces have recovered the bodies of three hostages which had been held in the Gaza Strip since the Palestinian militant group Hamas' 2023 attack, the military and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday. The hostages were identified as civilians Ofra Keidar and Yonatan Samerano, and soldier Shay Levinson. All were killed on the day of the attack, on October 7, 2023, the military said. With their retrieval, 50 hostages now remain in Gaza, only 20 of whom are believed to be alive. The abduction of Samerano, 21 at the time of his death, by a man later identified by Israeli officials as a worker at the U.N.'s Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA, was caught on CCTV. 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.
Washington Post
22-06-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Israel recovers bodies of three hostages from Gaza, IDF says
Israel's Shin Bet intelligence service and military forces recovered the bodies of three hostages from Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday. Israeli forces recovered the bodies of Ofra Keidar, 70; Yonatan Samerano, 21; and Shay Levinson, 19; who were abducted by Hamas militants on Oct. 7, 2023. The Israel Defense Forces recovered their remains after a military operation Saturday in Gaza, the agencies said, adding that the operation was made possible by precise intelligence. The agencies did not say where the bodies had been found in Gaza.
The Guardian
22-06-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Israel recovers bodies of three hostages held in Gaza
Israel announced on Sunday it had recovered the bodies of two civilians and one soldier held hostage in Gaza, amid its ongoing wars with Hamas and Iran. The Israeli military said it recovered the remains of hostages Ofra Keidar, Yonatan Samerano and staff sergeant Shay Levinson in an operation in Gaza on Saturday, more than 20 months after they were abducted by Hamas militants. 'In a special operation … the bodies of the hostages Ofra Keidar, Yonatan Samerano and staff sergeant Shay Levinson were recovered from the Gaza Strip yesterday,' the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement. The hostage families forum said in a statement the return of the bodies 'provides some comfort to the families who have waited in agony, uncertainty, and doubt for 625 days'. The group further urged the Israeli government to return the remaining 50 hostages from Gaza, which it said was the 'key to achieving complete victory'. The group described Samerano as 'a talented DJ who just wanted to make music, have fun, and travel'. Keidar, a 71-year-old, lived in the Be'eri kibbutz, where over a 100 people were killed. The return of the hostages came as some of the families of those abducted feared that Israel's war with Iran, which started on 13 June, would distract from efforts to return the remaining captives. Hamas-led miltiants took 251 people hostage during its 7 October 2023 attack in Israel, as well as killing 1,200 people. Of the remaining hostages, Israel believes about 30 to be dead. On Sunday, Israel's president, Isaac Herzog, called for the 'urgent release' of the remaining hostages after the US carried out strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. 'This brave step serves the security and safety of the entire free world. I hope it will lead to a better future for the Middle East – and help advance the urgent release of our hostages held in captivity in Gaza,' Herzog wrote on X. Some families of the hostages protested against the Israeli government's resumption of the war in Gaza in March and have said a ceasefire is the only way to safely recover those remaining. Fighting resumed after Israel declined to move to a second phase of an agreed-upon ceasefire that could have led to a permanent end to the war. Israel continues its operations in Gaza, where more than 55,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed over the last 20 months.
Telegraph
22-06-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Israel recovers bodies of three hostages from Gaza
Israel has recovered the bodies of three hostages who were killed on Oct 7 from Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces has announced. The remains of Ofra Keidar, Jonathan Samerano and Shay Levinson were brought back to Israel following a military operation overnight on Saturday. The hostages families' group welcomed their return and renewed calls for the government to strike a deal with Hamas for the 50 remaining hostages, of whom 20 are thought to be alive. Ms Keidar, 71, was murdered by terrorists while taking an early morning walk near her home in the kibbutz of Be'eri on Oct 7. Her body was taken into Gaza as part of what is believed to have been a deliberate strategy by Hamas to maximise leverage over Israel in the ensuing conflict. Ms Keidar's husband, who suffered from Parkinson's disease, was killed by Hamas on the sofa in his home. Their son, Elad Keidar, said: 'There is comfort – we will finally have a proper grave to visit. This is good news.' 'You have returned to us' Mr Samerano, 21, was at the Nova music festival when the terror attack began and fled towards Be'eri with two friends, but were killed. His death was confirmed in December 2023 following footage from a kibbutz security camera showing terrorists loading him into a jeep. His body was recovered on what would have been his 23rd birthday. Kobi Samerano, his father, wrote on social media: 'Yonati [Jonathan], we were blessed to live by your side for 21 and a half years of light,' he said. 'You have returned to us, beloved son, wrapped in the light of heroism, of faith, of a nation united.' The IDF claim that one of his captors was an employee of UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. Mr Levinson was a 19-year-old tank commander based on the Gaza border. He was killed while fighting the invading terrorists near the Nova festival. The soldier was a dual German-Israeli citizen. On Sunday, Steffen Seibert, Germany's ambassador, expressed his condolences to the family. Writing on X, he said: 'I just spoke to his father; our hearts are with his family and all others waiting for their loved-ones' return. There must be a deal to get them out and end this war.' The IDF continues to suffer casualties as it battles Hamas in Gaza. NGOs believe large numbers of people are now facing starvation, as Israel's controversial new aid distribution system struggles to make up for the previously allowed hundreds of aid trucks a day, which the government said were often seized by Hamas. With the eyes of the world diverted by the new conflict with Iran, mass killings of civilians near the aid sites have continued, with witnesses accusing Israeli troops of opening fire. The IDF said it investigates reports of such killings, while Israeli sources also point to Hamas's campaign of intimidation against civilians.
