The Israel Defense Forces confirmed on Wednesday evening it has recovered the body of a soldier who was abducted on October 7.
“The fighter fell in battle during the terrorist attack on October 7, and was kidnapped to Gaza. His family has been notified. At the request of the family, his name is not allowed in the publication. We share in the family’s grief and will continue to support it,” the IDF said.
The IDF provided few details about the recovery of an Israeli soldier who was killed during the October 7 Hamas massacre and whose remains were taken to Gaza by Hamas terrorists.
However, the IDF did say that the effort to do so lasted several months and included “gathering intelligence and analyzing various indications into a single picture.”
Alongside the operational effort, the Center for Kidnapped and Missing Persons in the IDF’s Casualty Unit of the Personnel Division, which is entrusted with accompanying the families of the Israeli hostages held in Gaza, worked to “quickly identify” the soldier’s remains and delivered the news of the recovery to the family.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement praising Israel’s security forces for the recovery of the body.
“Tonight, our forces returned to Israel the body of an IDF veteran, whose name was not allowed to be published,” he said. “The fighter fell in a heroic battle on October 7 while defending the settlements surrounding Gaza.”
“The heart of the entire nation mourns the terrible loss,” added Netanyahu. “My wife Sara and I send our condolences from the bottom of our hearts to his family.”
“I would like to thank the brave fighters and commanders of the Shin Bet (Israel’s anti-terror General Security Service) and the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) for their important action.”
The news comes one day after the army rescued Farhan Al Qadi, a 52-year-old resident of the Bedouin Negev town of Rahat.
At least 1,200 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the 103 remaining hostages, more than 30 have been declared dead. Hamas has also been holding captive two Israeli civilians since 2014 and 2015, and the bodies of two soldiers killed in 2014.
