JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli military said Friday that its troops In Gaza Hamas recovered the bodies of three Israeli hostages killed during its October 7 attack, including German-Israeli Shani Luke.
A photo of 22-year-old Luke’s twisted body in the back of a pickup truck went viral around the world, highlighting the extent of the extremists’ attacks on communities in southern Israel. The army identified the other two bodies as those of Amit Buskila, a 28-year-old woman, and Itzhak Gelander, 56.
All three were killed by Hamas while fleeing Nova Music FestivalAn outdoor dance party near the Gaza border where militants killed hundreds of people, military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari told a news conference.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu The deaths were called “heartbreaking” and “we will return all our hostages, living and dead.”
The military said the bodies were found overnight, but did not provide immediate details of their whereabouts. Israel is operating in the southern city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip, where intelligence says it is holding hostages.
Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapped 250 others. Half of those hostages have since been freed, most in exchange for Palestinian prisoners captured by Israel during a week-long ceasefire in November.
Israel says 100 hostages are still being held in Gaza, along with the bodies of 30 others. Israel’s War in Gaza According to Gaza health officials, more than 35,000 Palestinians were killed in the attack.
Netanyahu has vowed to both eliminate Hamas and bring back all the hostages, but he has made little progress. He faces Pressure to resign, and America has threatened to reduce its support for the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Israelis are divided into two main camps: those who want the government to end the war and release the hostages, and those who see the hostages as an unfortunate price to pay for eliminating Hamas. On-and-off talks brokered by Qatar, the US and Egypt have yielded little.
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