Israel announced on Sunday it had recovered the bodies of two civilians and one soldier held hostage in Gaza, amid its wars in Gaza and Iran.<\/p>\n
The Israeli military said it recovered the remains of Ofra Keidar, Yonatan Samerano and SSgt Shay Levinson in an operation in Gaza<\/a> on Saturday, more than 20 months after they were abducted by Hamas militants.<\/p>\n \u201cIn a special operation \u2026 the bodies of the hostages Ofra Keidar, Yonatan Samerano and SSgt Shay Levinson were recovered from the Gaza Strip yesterday,\u201d the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.<\/p>\n The hostage families forum said in a statement the return of the bodies \u201cprovides some comfort to the families who have waited in agony, uncertainty, and doubt for 625 days\u201d. The group further urged the Israeli government to return the remaining 50 hostages from Gaza, which it said was the \u201ckey to achieving complete victory\u201d.<\/p>\n The group described Samerano as \u201ca talented DJ who just wanted to make music, have fun, and travel\u201d. Keidar, 71, lived in the Be\u2019eri kibbutz, where more than 100 people were killed.<\/p>\n Some of the families of those abducted fear that Israel\u2019s war with Iran<\/a>, which started on 13 June, would distract from efforts to return the remaining captives. Hamas-led militants took 251 people hostage during its 7 October 2023 attack in Israel, and killed 1,200 people. Of the remaining hostages, Israel believes approximately 30 are dead.<\/p>\n