Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said on Wednesday that the military and security forces had found the remains of two Israeli hostages in Gaza since the October 7, 2023, by Hamas -led attack that the war arose.
“The bodies of two of our hostages were sent back to Israel,” Mr Netanyahu said in a statement and added that only one of their names, Yair Yaakov, was deleted for publication.
Mr Netanyahu said that Mr Yaakov was “murdered and kidnapped” by the militant group of Islamic Jihad in the attack of 2023. “Together with all Israel citizens, my wife and I expand our sincere participation to the families who have lost their dearest loved ones,” he added.
The Israeli army said on Wednesday in a statement about the other hostage: “His family was informed and his name will be released for release later.”
Yaakov had been a member of Kibbutz Nir Oz, an agricultural community near the border with Gaza that was hit hard by the attack. He was 59 when he was murdered, according to a statement from hostages and missing families forum, which represents the family members of some prisoners.
Together with his children, he was taken out of his house, or Yagil, and his partner, MeiRAV, according to the forum, and his death was confirmed in February 2024. The other family members were released as part of a temporary cease-fire deal in November 2023.
“Yair was a devoted family man with a huge heart, always ready to help others,” said the forum in his statement on behalf of the children of Mr. Yaakov.
On Saturday, the Israeli security forces said they had found the body of a Thai citizen, Nattapong Pintawho was in the thirty and a farm worker at Kibbutz Nir Oz when he was abducted to Gaza in the 2023 attack.
Last week the Israeli authorities said they had restored the remains of Gaza Two Israeli-American members of Kibbutz Nir Oz: Judi Weinstein Haggai, 70, who was also a Canadian citizen; And her husband, Gadi Haggai, 72.
The newest operation brings the number of living and dead prisoners with 53. The Israeli government has said that up to 23 hostages are supposed to live.
The hostage announcement on Wednesday came when the Israeli army carried out intense operations in Gaza, in what said there was an attempt to remove Hamas from power. It also came when Israel was confronted with a growing international pressure on the behavior of the war. In March, Israel imposed a roughly 80-day blockade on humanitarian aid that entered the enclave, because the initial phase of a two-month ceasefires ended between Hamas.
Both parties would negotiate the following steps in the ceasefire. Israeli officials argued that the limitations that Hamas control to make a compromise. Aid organizations suspended their activities As food stocks decreasedThe price of food shot up and humanitarian groups warned of mass ribation and hunger.
At the end of May a broadly criticized auxiliary distribution system that was supported by Israel and was mainly led by American contractors in the enclave. His efforts are marred by Chaos at help locations and fatal violence nearby.
According to the health authorities in Gaza, who make no distinction between citizens and fighters, more than 55,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war since October 7, 2023, attacks.
NIR OZ has become a symbol of the Scale of the 2023 attackWho saw about one in four of the approximately 400 inhabitants of the village or or kidnapped. In total, about 250 people, including foreigners, were held hostage and around 1,200 people, according to the Israeli authorities that day.
- Advertisement -
