The Israel Defense Forces says it has recovered the bodies of four Israeli hostages, two civilians and two soldiers, during an operation yesterday in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.
The hostages are Maya Goren, 56, Oren Goldin, 33, Sgt. Kiril Brodski, 19, and Staff Sgt. Tomer Yaakov Ahimas, 20.
All were killed by Hamas terrorists on October 7, and their bodies were kidnapped to the Gaza Strip. The military had previously announced their deaths, based on intelligence information and other findings following the onslaught.
Goren, a Nir Oz kindergarten teacher, was setting up the kibbutz kindergarten space early on October 7 when Hamas terrorists attacked the community, killing her and kidnapping her body.
Goldin was a member of the Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak security team, and was also killed battling the terrorists.
Brodski and Ahimas served in the forward command team of Col. Asaf Hamami, the commander of the Gaza Division's Southern Brigade. All three were killed and abducted near Kibbutz Nirim amid the onslaught. Hamami's body still remains in Gaza.
The IDF says it had accurate intelligence that allowed troops with the 98th Division and members of the Shin Bet security agency to reach the site in Khan Younis and recover the bodies, amid a new offensive in the city in the southern Gaza Strip.
It is now believed that 112 of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza, including the bodies of 40 confirmed dead by the IDF.
Hamas released 105 civilians during a weeklong truce in late November, and four hostages were released before that. Seven hostages have been rescued by troops alive, and the bodies of 24 hostages have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the military.
One more person is listed as missing since October 7, and their fate is still unknown.
Hamas is also holding two Israeli civilians who entered the Strip in 2014 and 2015, as well as the bodies of two IDF soldiers who were killed in 2014.