The recovery of the bodies of three hostages from northern Gaza on Thursday “provides important closure,” according to a group of families of people taken by Hamas.
“The recovery of their bodies is a silent but resolute reminder that the State of Israel is obligated to immediately dispatch negotiation teams with a clear demand to bring about a deal that will swiftly return all the hostages home: the living for rehabilitation and the murdered for burial,” the Hostage and Missing Families Forum said on Friday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife, Sara Netanyahu, offered condolences, saying they “bowed our heads in deep sorrow and embrace the grieving families in their difficult time.”
Israeli President Isaac Herzog said that Israel must “bring everyone back — those still alive, and those we must bring for burial.”
Mounting tensions: For months, there has been growing pressure on Netanyahu to secure the release of the Israelis still held by Hamas, which his government has made a key goal of its war in Gaza.
Numerous attempts to strike a hostage-for-ceasefire deal with Hamas have faltered in recent months, infuriating those in Israel campaigning for the return of the captives.
The bodies of three hostages taken by Hamas have been found in Jabalya, in northern Gaza, the Israeli military said on Friday.
All three were killed on October 7 at the Mefalsim intersection near Israel’s border with Gaza, and their bodies were taken into the enclave by Hamas, according to the military.
Identities of victims: The three victims were identified as Hanan Yablonka, Michel Nisenbaum, and Orion Hernandez, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said. Authorities have informed their families.
Their bodies were recovered by the IDF and the ISA, Israel’s domestic security agency, in a military operation in Jabalya overnight.
Remember: Israel launched its war in Gaza following the Hamas-led October 7 attacks in southern Israel, where the militant group killed around 1,200 people and abducted more than 250 people.
There are still 121 hostages who were abducted on October 7 in Gaza.
Israeli attacks in Gaza have since killed at least 35,800 Palestinians, according to the Ministry of Health there.
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