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Israel recovered the bodies of three more hostages held by Hamas following the terror group’s attack on Israel in October 2023.
The remains of the three hostages were recovered by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) during a special operation on Saturday and have been identified as Ofra Keidar, Yonatan Samerano and Shay Levinson, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum Headquarters.
“Our hearts are with the Keidar, Samerano, and Levinson families today,” the organization said. “Alongside the grief and pain, their return provides some comfort to the families who have waited in agony, uncertainty and doubt for 625 days.”
The group added that the return of all hostages is essential for national healing and recovery.
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The Israeli Defense Forces also confirmed that the three hostages’ remains had been recovered from Gaza. The bodies of Keidar, Samerano, and Levinson were recovered during a special operation carried out by the IDF and the Israel Security Agency (ISA) on Saturday.
The IDF credited “precise intelligence received from the ISA, the Hostage Task Force, and the IDF Intelligence Directorate” and said it extends “condolences to the families and will continue to make all efforts possible to bring home all the hostages.”
Keidar, a resident of Kibbutz Be’eri, was kidnapped on Oct. 7, 2023, by Hamas terrorists “while taking her usual morning walk through the fields she loved,” according to the Hostage Families Forum.
She worked on a dairy farm for 30 years, caring for newborn calves and “was a dedicated worker with exceptional physical strength,” the organization said.
“Later, she moved to the local petting zoo, where she worked for 15 years, and even after reaching retirement age, she never slowed down.”
“Anyone who visited her home could see her greatest loves, aside from her family – her dogs, especially poodles, and tending to her garden and houseplants,” the forum added.
The IDF noted that Keidar, who was 71 at the time of her death, “was a mother of three and the wife of Shmuel Keidar, who was also murdered by Hamas terrorists in their home in Be’eri.”
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Samerano, who was 21 at the time of his death, “was brutally murdered and abducted from Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7, 2023, by Hamas terrorists, including a UNRWA employee, after fleeing the Nova music festival,” according to the IDF.
Yonatan, or “Yonati” as his friends and family called him, “was always surrounded by friends – a talented DJ who just wanted to make music, bring joy, and travel,” the Hostage Families Forum said.
“Even at his young age, he was an entrepreneur at heart and a savvy businessman who dreamed of developing his career in event production.”
Levinson, a staff sergeant and tank commander in the “Oz” (77) Battalion, “engaged and fought terrorists on the morning of October 7 and fell in combat,” according to the IDF.
“He was then abducted by Hamas terrorists.”
Levinson, who was 19 years old at the time of his death, is remembered as “a quiet and exceptional young man – ambitious and driven, who pushed himself to excel in sports and every field that interested him,” the Hostage Families Forum said.
“Shay, a resident of Givat Avni in the Lower Galilee, was an outstanding player on the M.S. Eilabun volleyball team – a team that serves as a model for Jewish-Arab cooperation,” according to the organization.
“Shay chose to forgo the opportunity to receive active athlete status and instead chose meaningful combat service in the IDF.”
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