Bodies of four hostages identified after return from Gaza

The bodies of Israeli hostages Itzik Elgarat, Ohad Yahalomi, Shlomo Mantzur and Tsachi Idan, were confirmed to be returned to Israel from Gaza and identified by forensic investigators.

Hamas handed over to the Red Cross what it claimed were the bodies of the four Israelis at around midnight in Gaza.

The handover did not include a stage ceremony in front of a crowd of Gazans. These ceremonies during previous releases drew criticism from the United Nations and other international actors.

Adam Ma’anit, a cousin of Tsachi Idan who works for the Board of Deputies, released a statement on behalf of the family upon hearing the news while flying to Israel: “Tsachi was kidnapped on his feet and we received several signs of life from him during the period, and in the November 2023 deal he was still alive and expected to be released.”

Idan will now be laid to rest next to his daughter, Maayan, 18, who was murdered on October 7th while trying to help her father and guard the door to the their safe room.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum confirmed Mantzur’s body has been identified following its return from Gaza overnight. Mantzur, 85, was one of the oldest to be taken hostage on October 7.

“Shlomo was born in 1938, and survived the Farhud pogrom in Iraq. He immigrated to Israel in 1951 and was one of the founders of Kibbutz Kissufim,” the Forum said.

They added: “He was an energetic and cheerful man dedicated to giving, a polymath with a strong work ethic.”

The Israeli Health Ministry stated that a full forensic examination to determine the cause of death of the four will be conducted at a later time, though the Prime Minister’s Office has said that Elgarat, Yahalomi and Idan were murdered in captivity, while Mantzur was killed during the attacks and his remains taken hostage.

With the return of the group, Israel has now received all 33 hostages that were due to be handed over in the first phase of the ceasefire deal. Twenty-five returned alive.

“Together with the entire nation, we share in the immense grief and sorrow of the bereaved families and the kibbutz communities of Nir Oz, Nahal Oz, and Kissufim,” Israeli President Isaac Herzog wrote on X.

“The return of our brothers’ bodies from captivity underscores our moral obligation to do everything in our power to bring back all the hostages—the living to their loving families, and the fallen to be late to rest. Until the last one is home! They are all humanitarian cases, and they must all be returned,” he continued.

Kibbutz Nir Oz issued a statement regarding the return of Elgarat and Yahalomi bodies who were both residents there. In reference to Elgarat, they shared: “We will remember him for his laughter, his big heart, and his constant willingness to help anyone in need.” Regarding Yahalomi, they added: “We will always remember him as a man of strong values, full of compassion, a lover of both people and the land.”

Following the identification of French-Israeli Yahalomi’s body, French President Macron condemned Hamas’ terrorism, tweeting: “The barbaric acts of Hamas must end.”

He expressed sympathy for the families, writing: “I share the immense pain of his family and loved ones.” Macron also noted that France had lost 50 of its citizens during the terrorist group’s October 7 massacre.

In exchange for the hostages’ return, Israel is releasing up to 602 Palestinian terrorists, whose scheduled release on February 22 was postponed due to alleged ceasefire violations by Hamas.

Palestinian medics cited by Reuters reported that Israel had returned the body of an unidentified Gazan woman – initially handed over by Hamas in place of slain hostage Shiri Bibas – to a hospital in the Gaza Strip, following the recovery of Bibas’s remains over the weekend.

A Hamas source told Reuters that the Palestinian detainees set for release include 445 men and 24 women and minors arrested in Gaza, along with 151 prisoners serving life sentences for deadly attacks on Israelis.

The first phase of the ceasefire saw the exchange of the 33 Israeli hostages for some 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, along with the partial withdrawal of Israeli troops from some areas in Gaza and an increase in humanitarian aid to the Strip.

As the 42-day truce approaches its expiration on Saturday, it remains unclear whether it will be extended to facilitate the release of more of the 59 remaining hostages, or if talks for a second phase of the deal will commence.