Israel says remains of three hostages have been recovered from Gaza

They were identified as 21-year-old Yonatan Samerano, 70-year-old Ofra Keidar, and 19-year-old Shay Levinson

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.

Kobi Samerano said in a Facebook post that his son Yonatan, was killed during Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack and his body was taken into Gaza.

Samerano said the remains were returned on what would have been his son's 23rd birthday.

Earlier, the bodies of two Israeli hostages abducted during the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023, were recovered on June 11 in a joint Israeli military and intelligence operation in southern Gaza.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the remains of 59-year-old Yair Yaakov and another unnamed hostage were retrieved from Khan Younis by the army’s 36th Division, based on intelligence provided by the Military Intelligence Directorate and Israel’s internal security agency, Shin Bet.

Yaakov was kidnapped from his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz and fatally shot while trying to close the safe room door to protect his family. His sons, Or and Yagil, and his partner, Meirav Tal, were also abducted but later released in a hostage deal in November 2023.

The second hostage, also taken from Nir Oz and subsequently killed, was identified by forensic experts at the Abu Kabir National Institute of Forensic Medicine, and his family has been notified.