Israel Recovers Bodies of 2 Hostages From Gaza

Jerusalem, 12 December, 2023 (TPS) -- Israeli soldiers recovered the bodies of two hostages in Gaza and brought them back to Israel, it was cleared for publication on Tuesday night.

The Israel Defense Forces said the bodies were positively identified as Eden Zakaria and Ziv Dado.

“The national mission before our eyes is to locate the missing and return all the abductees home. We are working together with the security agencies, with all the intelligence and operational means to return all the abductees home,” the IDF said in a statement.

The 27 year-old Zakaria was taken captive by Hamas from the Nova music festival near the grounds of Kibbutz Reim on October 7. Dado, 36, was a military logistics supervisor whose death that day was confirmed on Oct. 25.

After an identification procedure carried out by medical officials and military rabbis, together with the Institute of Forensic Medicine and the Israel Police, the families were notified.

The IDF added that two soldiers were killed in the process of retrieving the bodies. The two soldiers were identified as 28 year-old Master Sgt. (res.) Eyal Meir Berkowitz of Jerusalem and Major (res.) Gal Meir Eisenkot. The latter is the son of former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, who is a member of Israel’s War Cabinet.

At least 1,200 people were killed in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on Oct. 7. Hamas currently holds more than 135 men, women, children, soldiers and foreigners captive in Gaza. Some people remain unaccounted for as Israeli authorities continue to identify bodies and search for human remains.