Israeli forces recover the bodies of three more hostages in Gaza

The Israel Defense Forces on Friday said they had found the bodies in a joint operation with Israel’s security service, Shin Bet. Hanan Yablonka, Michel Nisenbaum, and Oryon Hernandez Radoux had been missing since Hamas terrorists attacked on Oct. 7, 2023.

Where did IDF forces find these hostages? The Israeli military said it found the hostages in the Jabaliya neighborhood north of Gaza City. The locale saw intense fighting early on during Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. Israeli forces again conducted operations in the area this week.

How long had the hostages been in Gaza, and how did they die? The IDF said its information suggested Palestinian militants slaughtered the hostages in Israel on Oct. 7, when roughly 1,200 other people were killed. The militants afterward took the hostages’ bodies back across the border into Gaza. Israeli officials have notified the families of the deceased hostages, the IDF said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a statement thanking the Israeli military for their continued efforts to bring back all the hostages in Gaza—both alive and deceased. He added that their mission to do so was a moral and national duty.