Israel announced Friday it recovered the bodies of three Israeli hostages taken by Hamas during the Oct. 7 attacks — including the boyfriend of fellow hostage Shani Louk, who became a symbol of the terror group’s aggression after her dead body was paraded around Gaza.
Hanan Yablonka, Michel Nisenbaum and Oryon Hernandez Radoux, the 30-year-old boyfriend of Louk, were located in Gaza in an operation overnight Friday, nearly eight months after they were killed in Hamas’ unprovoked attack on southern Israel, the Israel Defense Forces said.
Hernandez Radoux, a French-Mexican citizen, and Louk were both at the music festival when Hamas attacked. Yablonka, a 42-year-old father of two who loved music, was also at the event, his grieving family told the Associated Press.
Nisenbaum, 59, was a Brazilian-Israeli from the southern city of Sderot who was captured when he went to rescue his 4-year-old granddaughter.
The three were killed on the day of the attack at the Mefalsim intersection and their bodies were taken to Gaza.
Their recovery comes less than a week after the army said it found the bodies of three other Israeli hostages killed on Oct. 7, including Louk.
Some 1,200 people, mainly civilians, were killed by Hamas in the Oct. 7 attack while around 250 others were kidnapped.
About half of the hostages have since been freed, most in swaps for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel during a weeklong cease-fire in November.
Israel says about 100 hostages are still captive in Gaza, along with the bodies of about 30 more.
The latest recovery comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces mounting pressure to resign — and as the US threatens to scale back its support of the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
On Friday, the Israeli leader said the country had a duty to do everything to get those abducted, including those who have been killed, back home.
Israel’s offensive since the start of the war has killed over 35,000 Palestinians and led to a humanitarian crisis and near-famine, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
While Israel has weakened Hamas’ capabilities, terrorists have been regrouping in some of the hardest-hit areas. According to Israel, its troops are operating in Rafah in the south, in central Gaza and in Jabaliya in the north.
