The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has recovered the bodies of three hostages, who were kidnapped and murdered by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023.
Following a forensic investigation, the IDF identified them as 71-year-old Ofra Keidar, 21-year-old Yonatan Samerano and 19-year-old Shay Levinson.
“In a special operation carried out by the ISA and the IDF, the bodies of the hostages Ofra Keidar, Yonatan Samerano, and Staff Sergeant Shay Levinson were recovered from the Gaza Strip yesterday,” the IDF announced Sunday.
Ofra Keidar, mother of three and grandmother of seven, was taken hostage and murdered by terrorists while on a morning walk near Kibbutz Be’er in southern Israel. Her husbands was killed in their family home.
Yonatan Samrano was abducted from the Nova music festival along with his two friends. All three were murdered on October 7, 2023, and Hamas held their bodies in Gaza for ‘ransom’.
Shay Levinson, a young IDF Sargent and a tank commander, was ambushed and murdered by Hamas terrorists. Shay “fought terrorists on the morning of October 7 and fell in combat,” the IDF noted.
The Jerusalem Post reported the details surrounding their abduction and murder by terrorists:
Ofra Keidar was murdered alongside her husband, Sami, on Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7, and her body was taken to Gaza. She was 71 years old and a mother of three. Her death was confirmed in December 2023.
Keidar, along with Inbar Haiman, was the only female hostage left in Hamas captivity. Haiman was killed in captivity, her family confirmed in December 2023.
Yonatan Samerano, 21 years old, attended the Nova Music Festival at Re’im, and when the attacks began, he fled to Be’eri, where he was killed and kidnapped to Gaza by terrorists.
Shay Levinson was a tank commander in the 77th “Oz” Battalion in the 7th Armored Brigade. He was killed on October 7, but his death was only determined in January 2024.
According to reports, Levinson was in a tank that was caught by surprise when Hamas terrorists crossed the border in the early morning of October 7. His tank managed to kill around 15 terrorists with shells before being overwhelmed.
The remains were uncovered in a coastal area of Gaza in a covert operation conducted by special forces of the IDF and Shin Bet security agency (ISA), backed by military and domestic intelligence services. “The rescue operation was conducted by the ISA and IDF troops of the Southern Command and the Gaza Division,” the IDF disclosed. “The operation was made possible by precise intelligence received from the ISA, the Hostage Task Force, and the IDF Intelligence Directorate.”
The bodies are recovered as the operation Gideon’s Chariots, the IDF’s final push to defeat Hamas in Gaza and free the hostages, enters its eighth week. After more than 20 months since the October 7 massacre, Hamas still holds 50 hostages, including two Americans. Less than 25 captives are believed to be alive.
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