Passersby look at photos of hostages held in the Gaza corridor on the wall of Hostage Square in Tel Aviv, Israel, Friday, May 17, 2024.
Odebaliti/Associated Press
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Odebaliti/Associated Press
Passersby look at photos of hostages held in the Gaza corridor on the wall of Hostage Square in Tel Aviv, Israel, Friday, May 17, 2024.
Odebaliti/Associated Press
Israel says it has recovered the bodies of three people killed in the October 7 Hamas-led attack that triggered the invasion of the Gaza Strip.
Israel’s top military spokesman, Maj. Gen. Daniel Hagari, said on Friday that the three men were Shani Locke, Amit Bouskila and Yitzhak Gehrent. He said they were killed by Palestinian militants during an attack on a music festival in southern Israel and their bodies were taken into Gaza.
Israel says there are still more than 130 hostages in Gaza, a quarter of whom are believed to be dead. In an attack on October 7, more than 240 people were taken hostage, and hundreds of Palestinian militants broke through the fence around Gaza and attacked Israeli neighborhoods and a nearby music festival. According to Gaza’s health ministry, more than 35,000 Palestinians have been killed in the resulting war and the Gaza corridor has been reduced to rubble.
The three people found were all at the Nova Music Festival when they were killed. Hundreds of revelers were shot dead at an open-air music event, while Hamas-led militants also attacked a number of towns and villages near the Gaza border in what became the bloodiest day in Israel’s history.
Hagari gave no details about where the bodies were found, but Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that the bodies were found in a joint operation between the Israeli military and the Shin Bet intelligence agency.
Authorities in October found a bone fragment from the skull of one of the hostages, 23-year-old Israeli-German citizen Shani Louk, confirming his death. Video of her half-naked, twisted death hanging from the back of a militants’ truck immediately circulated on social media after the attack, shocking the world.
However, the daughter of 57-year-old Yitzhak Gelernter said she was unaware of her father’s fate until authorities notified her that his body had been found, Israel’s Channel 12 News reported.
“We have hope and we believe it will end differently,” Arden Pifko said.
During the attack, 28-year-old Amit Buskila was on the phone to her uncle, telling him that she had been hiding from gunmen at the festival by hiding behind some cars. Her uncle said he heard her begging for her life before gunfire rang out, The Times of Israel reported.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement, “Such a great loss is heartbreaking. My wife Sarah and I are hurting along with the family. Our hearts go out to them in their time of profound grief.” together.
He promised “we will repatriate all hostages, living and dead. I congratulate our brave troops for their determined actions to bring the sons and daughters of Israel home.”
During a week-long ceasefire in November, about half of the hostages taken during the October strikes were returned in exchange for the release of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.
But since then, Netanyahu’s government has been criticized by many hostage families for failing to reach another ceasefire and exchange deal, insisting instead that he will continue to fight until Hamas is crushed.
Thousands of Israelis took part in protests over the weekend, demanding a deal to bring the remaining hostages home, new elections and Netanyahu’s resignation. More protests are expected in Tel Aviv this weekend.
