Israel has successfully recovered the bodies of three hostages, Shani Luke, Amit Bouskila, and Itzhak Gelenter, who were taken by Hamas in October. The Israeli military confirmed that Hamas terrorists killed them while they were escaping the Nova music festival on October 7th and then took their bodies back to Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his condolences, stating, 'The heart breaks for the great loss. We will return all our hostages, the dead and alive alike.'
The IDF conducted an intelligence-based operation to retrieve the bodies, which involved interrogating Hamas terrorists to gather information. The bodies were found in a tunnel in Gaza and were later taken to the Forensic Institute for identification. The families of the victims were informed throughout the day, and the recovery was made public in Israel.
Regarding the ongoing operations in Gaza, the IDF did not disclose specific details to avoid jeopardizing further activities. Efforts are being made to locate other hostages abducted by Hamas on the same day, with a total of 129 individuals still missing.
On a separate note, humanitarian aid is being delivered to Gaza through a newly established floating pier off the coast, constructed by the United States Central Command. The aid, which includes truckloads of supplies, is expected to increase in the coming days to reach up to 150 trucks per day. Despite challenges such as Hamas launching rockets towards aid crossings, efforts are being made to ensure the safe delivery of supplies to those in need.
The aid is inspected in Cyprus before being offloaded in Gaza, where it is then distributed to Palestinian trucks for delivery. While the pilot operation has been successful so far, further coordination with international partners is ongoing to enhance aid distribution across different regions of Gaza.
