The Israeli military announced Sunday morning that, in cooperation with the General Security Service (Shin Bet), it had recovered the bodies of three kidnapped Israelis from the Gaza Strip, in a special operation carried out last night inside the Strip.
The statement explained that the operation resulted in the recovery of the bodies of Ofra Kedar, Yonatan Samrano, and Sergeant First Class Shai Levinson, who were kidnapped from Kibbutz Be'eri during the attacks of October 7, 2023.
According to information released by the army, Ofra Kedar, 71, was killed during a surprise attack carried out by Hamas on Kibbutz Be'eri. She was kidnapped after her husband, Shmuel, was killed in their home the same day.
The statement also indicated that Yonatan Samrano (21 years old) was also killed during the "Al-Aqsa Flood" battle at the hands of Hamas members, after he was kidnapped from the same kibbutz.
Sergeant First Class Shai Levinson, 19, fought as part of a tank crew in the Oz Battalion that morning before being killed in action and his body also being smuggled into the Gaza Strip.
The operation was carried out based on accurate intelligence gathered by the Shin Bet and the IDF's Intelligence Branch, with the participation of forces from the Southern Command and the Gaza Division.
After the bodies were recovered, the identities of the deceased were confirmed through examinations conducted by the Israeli police and the Military Rabbinate, before their families and the residents of Kibbutz Be'eri were informed.
The army concluded its statement by affirming that it will continue to use all possible means to return all abductees to their families, whether alive or dead.
Netanyahu: We will continue working to return all the abductees... alive or dead.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that a special operation carried out by the Shin Bet security service, in cooperation with the Israeli army, in the Gaza Strip resulted in the recovery of the bodies of three abductees who had been held by Hamas.
In his statement, Netanyahu thanked the commanders and fighters of the IDF and Shin Bet, praising their "determination and courage in carrying out this complex and successful mission."
He stressed that "efforts to return the kidnapped individuals are continuing without interruption, and are running parallel to the military and political campaign against Iran," adding, "We will not rest until we return all our kidnapped individuals to their homes, alive or dead."
شارك برأيك
The Israeli army announces the recovery of the remains of three prisoners from Gaza.