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, which were taken 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.

“Together with all the citizens of Israel, my wife and I send our heartfelt condolences to the dear families and share in their deep sorrow,” Netanyahu said in a statement.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, an umbrella group representing most of the hostage families from the Oct. 7 attack, said the return of the hostages “provides some comfort to the families who have waited in agony, uncertainty, and doubt for 625 days.”

Advertisement

The group renewed calls for a “comprehensive deal” to return the remaining hostages in Gaza and praised Israel’s recent strikes in Iran as an opportunity to make that deal a reality.

“There is a historic window of opportunity — the significant regional achievements enable Israel to end the war from a position of clear strength,” the group said. “The return of all hostages through a comprehensive deal — this is in Israel’s interest, this is the next stage, and this is the victory of this war. There will be no victory until the last hostage returns.”

Israel estimates that about 50 hostages remain in Gaza out of the 251 who were abducted on Oct. 7. About 23 are believed to be alive.

Keidar, a resident of the farming community Kibbutz Beeri that was attacked by Hamas on Oct. 7, was killed while walking through the fields of the kibbutz that morning, according to the IDF. Keidar was a mother of three, according to the IDF, and her husband was also killed in Beeri during the attack.

Advertisement

Keidar worked on a dairy farm for three decades, caring for newborn calves. She later went to work for a local petting zoo, “and even after reaching retirement age, she never slowed down,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said.

Samerano, a DJ, was attending the Nova music festival when it was attacked by Hamas. Samerano fled to Beeri, where he was also killed, according to the IDF. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said Samerano was an entrepreneur beginning a career in event production who wanted to “make music, bring joy, and travel.”

Samerano’s father said on social media that his son’s remains were recovered on what would have been his 23rd birthday.

Levinson, a staff sergeant and tank commander in the IDF’s 7th Armored Brigade, “fell in combat” on Oct. 7, the IDF said. Levinson was an avid volleyball player before joining the military.

The bodies of three more hostages are in Israeli care as of Sunday, June 22, the country’s military announced, leaving some 50 more to be returned. Meanwhile, ambulance activity in the Gaza Strip has come to a “complete halt,” as Israeli strikes killed upwards of 50 people in a 24-hour period, according to multiple reports.

IDF operation recovers three hostages

On Sunday, the Israeli military said it recovered the bodies of three hostages who were killed during Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, surprise attack on Israel. That attack, which saw 1,200 Israelis killed and 250 taken hostage, sparked the current war, which is four months shy of reaching two years.

The recovered hostages include 21-year-old Yonatan Samerano, 70-year-old Ofra Keidar, and Shay Levinson, aged 19.

Download the SAN app today to stay up-to-date with Unbiased. Straight Facts™. Point phone camera here

“The campaign to return the hostages continues consistently and is happening alongside the campaign against Iran,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement.

The Israeli military announced its hostage recovery operation shortly after the U.S. executed a military airstrike on its behalf, severely damaging three Iranian nuclear facilities. However, the AP notes that it’s unclear if the airstrike was related to the hostage operation. Iran has long been a supporter of Hamas, the militant group responsible for launching the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel.

According to The Times of Israel, the recovery operation was carried out by the Israel Defense Forces’ Gaza Division, utilizing “precise intelligence” from the Hostages Headquarters unit, the Military Intelligence Directorate, and the Shin Bet.

The paper also reports that Hamas is still holding 50 hostages. At least 28 are believed to be dead, 20 alive, and the condition of two others is unknown.

In a statement, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said, “We want to emphasize that bringing back the remaining 50 hostages is the key to achieving any sort of victory. There is a historic window of opportunity — the significant regional achievements enable Israel to end the war from a position of clear strength.”

Dozens of Palestinians killed as ambulance activity comes to a halt

Early Sunday morning, Ramy Abdul, a Gaza-born Palestinian financial expert and human rights advocate, wrote on X that “All ambulance vehicles in Gaza City have come to a complete halt,” following an Israeli ban on fuel entering the enclave.

This development occurs as Israeli forces killed at least 30 Palestinians across Gaza on Sunday, Al Jazeera reports, citing hospital sources in the region. Gaza’s Health Ministry puts the number at 51 in the last 24 hours.

Four of those deaths came from an airstrike on central Gaza’s Nuseirat refugee camp, Al-Awda Hospital told the AP. Another 22 were wounded while waiting for aid trucks. Another six were killed after Israel reportedly imposed an internet blackout that lasted five hours, a Gaza-based correspondent for Al Jazeera reports.

Since launching its offensive in the Gaza Strip, Israel has killed more than 55,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. While the ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, the U.S. intelligence community suggests that Hamas had around 25,000 combatants prior to the Oct. 7 attacks. As of February, the number stands at around 17,000. If U.S. estimates are correct, that means from a death toll of around 55,000, roughly 47,000 would be civilians or noncombatants.

Aid distribution contractor requests $30 million in US funding

Meanwhile, the aid distribution sites run by the private Israel- and U.S.-backed contractor, Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), continue to be plagued with reports of indiscriminate killings. While witnesses, hospital staff and experts maintain that Israeli gunfire is responsible for hundreds of Palestinian deaths at the sites, Israel asserts it has only ever fired warning shots near crowds –– never into them.

However, when asked how its soldiers handle crowd control near the sites, the IDF told the Associated Press its “operational conduct … is accompanied by systematic learning processes.”

Similarly, the GHF has denied that any shootings have occurred near its sites during operational hours, and said the incidents that are reported happen before the sites open, when Palestinians desperate for aid approach the areas “during prohibited times … or trying to take a short cut.”

Earlier this month, GHF temporarily paused its work in Gaza amid concerns of overcrowding, violence and an impending famine. However, the group has since requested an additional $30 million from the U.S. government to continue its operations. According to a funding application obtained by The Associated Press, GHF projects its costs to hit $150 million a month, or roughly $1.8 billion annually.

Israel announced on Sunday it had recovered the bodies of two civilians and one soldier held hostage in Gaza, amid its wars in Gaza and Iran.

The Israeli military said it recovered the remains of Ofra Keidar, Yonatan Samerano and SSgt 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 SSgt 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, 71, lived in the Be’eri kibbutz, where more than 100 people were killed.

Some of the families of those abducted fear that Israel’s war with Iran, which started on 13 June, would distract from efforts to return the remaining captives. Hamas-led militants took 251 people hostage during its 7 October 2023 attack in Israel, and killed 1,200 people. Of the remaining hostages, Israel believes approximately 30 are 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.

People react as they gather to watch a live stream reporting on the release of Israeli-American soldier hostage Edan Alexander, in hostages square outside the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv, Israel, in May. File photo Abir Sultan/EPA-EFE

June 22 (UPI) — The bodies of three Israeli hostages have been recovered from the Gaza Strip, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

Yonatan Samrano, Ofra Keidar and Staff Sgt. Shai Levinson’s remains were retrieved Saturday as part of a military operation.

Keidar, 71, was killed at a kibbutz and her remains were taken into Gaza. Levinson, who engaged in the Oct. 7th attack, was 19 at the time of this death, according to the IDF. Samerano’s remains were discovered by the Israeli army.

“I thank our commanders and fighters for a successful operation, for their determination and courage,” Netanyahu said following the return of the remains.

The Israel Defense Forces has recovered a total of eight bodies from Gaza this month as the latest battle between the two adversaries ignited on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas launched a cross-border attack on Israel, killing more than 1,200 people and taking 251 others hostage.

The return of the hostage remains comes amid a U.S. attack on three Iranian nuclear facilities Sunday, which bolsters Israel’s efforts to cripple Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Israel has recently started its own attacks on Iran.

“The campaign to return the abductees continues continuously and is taking place in parallel with the campaign against Iran,” Netanyahu continued. “We will not rest until we return all our abductees home — both the living and the dead.”

The IDF did not say where the remains were recovered.

Bodies of Three Hostages Recovered In Gaza Operation

The bodies of three slain hostages, Ofra Keidar, Jonathan Samerano, and Staff Sgt. Shay Levinson, were recovered in a joint military and Shin Bet operation from the Gaza Strip overnight, the IDF announces.

The operation to recover the bodies was carried out by the Gaza Division, and was “enabled by precise intelligence” obtained by the military’s Hostages Headquarters unit, the Military Intelligence Directorate, and the Shin Bet, the IDF says.

Keidar, 71, was murdered by Hamas-led terrorists in Kibbutz Be’eri during the October 7, 2023, onslaught, and abducted to Gaza.

Samerano, 22, fled from the Nova music festival to Be’eri with two friends, where they were murdered, and his body was abducted.

Levinson, 19, was a tank commander stationed on the Gaza border on the morning of the onslaught. He was killed while battling the invading Hamas terrorists near the Nova party, and his body was abducted to Gaza.

“Yesterday was Yonati’s Hebrew birthday. On his 23rd birthday, on the very day he was born, our Yonati was rescued in a heroic operation by the brave soldiers of the IDF and the Shin Bet,” Kobi Samerano says on Instagram.

The three bodies were brought to Israel for identification at the Abu Kabir forensic institute, after which their families were notified.