Israel has confirmed that the bodies of three soldiers abducted during Hamas’s October 7, 2023, assault have been returned through the International Committee of the Red Cross, more than two years after they were taken captive.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Monday that forensic tests identified the remains as those of Colonel Asaf Hamami, 40, Captain Omer Neutra, 21, and Staff Sergeant Oz Daniel, 19. The remains were first received by Israeli forces in Gaza and later examined at the National Centre of Forensic Medicine in Tel Aviv.
The Israeli government expressed “deep sorrow” over the soldiers’ deaths, offering condolences to their families and reaffirming its pledge to bring home all hostages still held in Gaza. “Israel will not rest until every hostage, living or dead, is brought home,” the statement read.
The three were among the 251 people taken hostage during the Hamas-led incursion into southern Israel that killed around 1,200 people. Colonel Hamami, who commanded the IDF’s Southern Brigade, was killed near Kibbutz Nirim, while Captain Neutra, a dual Israeli-American citizen, and Staff Sergeant Daniel died in combat near the Gaza border.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum described the recovery as “a moment of immense grief,” urging renewed efforts to secure the release of all hostages or the recovery of their remains.
Under the U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal that began in October, Hamas was required to return all 48 hostages—20 living and 28 deceased—but Israel has accused the group of delaying the process. Hamas claims it faces difficulties recovering bodies from beneath rubble caused by months of airstrikes.
Despite the fragile truce, sporadic violence continues. On Sunday, an Israeli airstrike in northern Gaza killed a man the IDF described as a “terrorist threat,” as the ongoing conflict, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, has now claimed more than 68,000 lives since Israel’s campaign began.
