ISRAEL: The Israeli military announced on Friday that it has recovered the bodies of three Israelis—a civilian and two soldiers—who had been held in Gaza by Hamas since the attack on southern Israel on October 7th.
The military said that forensic specialists, military rabbis, and medical personnel worked together to identify Elia Toledano, 28, and soldiers Nik Beizer and Ron Scherman, 19. It didn't go into detail on how they were killed or where in Gaza they were found. According to Israeli media, Toledano was abducted by Hamas from an open-air music celebration that descended into carnage.
When Hamas gunmen broke over the separation barrier into Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people, Israel stated that 240 of them were held prisoner. According to Palestinian officials, Israel's heavy artillery and ground assault in Gaza over the past few weeks has resulted in the deaths of about 19,000 Palestinians, tens of thousands of injuries, and the displacement of half of the 2.3 million residents living there.
In late November, Israel freed 240 women and teenagers it had imprisoned, many of them without charge, in exchange for Hamas releasing more than 100 women, children, and foreigners it was detaining in Gaza during a week-long ceasefire. There are still about 130 hostages in Gaza. Some have had Israeli officials declare them dead in absentia.
Hamas chief warns Israel to make any plan for Gaza without us after war
