WhatsappThe Israel Defense Forces says it has recovered the bodies of five Israeli hostages, three civilians and two soldiers, during an operation yesterday in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.
The hostages are Maya Goren, 56, Oren Goldin, 33, Sgt. Kiril Brodski, 19, Staff Sgt. Tomer Yaakov Ahimas, 20, and Ravid Katz of Nir Oz. All were killed by Hamas terrorists on October 7, and their bodies were kidnapped to the Gaza Strip. The military had previously announced their deaths, based on intelligence information and other findings following the onslaught.
Goren, a Nir Oz kindergarten teacher, was setting up the kibbutz kindergarten space early on October 7 when Hamas terrorists attacked the community, killing her and kidnapping her body.
Goldin was a member of the Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak security team, and was also killed battling the terrorists.
Brodski and Ahimas served in the forward command team of Col. Asaf Hamami, the commander of the Gaza Division’s Southern Brigade. All three were killed and abducted near Kibbutz Nirim amid the onslaught. Hamami’s body still remains in Gaza.
Katz was a member of the Kibbutz Nir Oz security team, who battled the terrorists on October 7, before being killed and his body abducted.
The IDF says it had accurate intelligence that allowed troops with the 98th Division and members of the Shin Bet security agency to reach the site in Khan Younis and recover the bodies, amid a new offensive in the city in the southern Gaza Strip. It is now believed that 112 of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza, including the bodies of 40 confirmed dead by the IDF.
