The Israeli Army confirmed this Friday that it had recovered the bodies of three hostages who were being held in the Gaza Strip, including that of the young German-Israeli Shani Louk, 23, whose death had been confirmed at the end of October.
The other two dead are Amit Buskila, 28, and Itzhak Gelerenter, 57, both kidnapped and already dead, according to the Israeli Army, and who were attending the Nova festival on October 7, where around 360 people were murdered. and 40 arrested at the hands of the Islamist group.
“According to verified intelligence information, Yitzhak Gelernter, Shani Louk and Amit Buskila were killed during the October 7 massacre at the Mefalsim intersection and their bodies were kidnapped in Gaza,” military spokesman Daniel Hagari said in a video message today.
Last night, the three bodies were recovered in Rafah (south), during a joint military operation by the Army and the Internal Intelligence Service (Shin Bet) based on information obtained during interrogations.
Israeli Prime Minister Beniamin Netanyahu lamented this “heartbreaking” loss in a statement and sent his condolences and those of his wife, Sara Netanyahu, to the families.
“We will return all our hostages, both the living and the deceased. I congratulate our brave forces whose determined action has returned the sons and daughters to their own border,” added Netanyahu, whom many Israelis accuse of hindering a truce agreement to free more than thirty live hostages.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog also sent his condolences to the families in a statement, and said the bodies will receive “eternal rest in Israel.”
The images of the German-Israeli Louk, in a van driven by Hamas militiamen during the massacre of October 7, went around the world. On October 30, the Israeli Foreign Ministry confirmed her death, according to what a spokesperson told EFE, after finding a part of the young woman’s body.
