A woman reacts next to photos of hostages kidnapped during the deadly October 7 attack by Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Dizengoff Square in Tel Aviv, Israel May 23, 2024. Photo by REUTERS/Marko Djurica
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The bodies of three other hostages killed on Oct. 7 were found overnight in Gaza, the Israeli military said Friday, as the United Nations’ highest court prepares to rule on the question of whether Israel should end its military operations and withdraw from the enclave.
The bodies of Hanan Yablonka, Michel Nisenbaum and Oryon Hernandez Radoux were found and their families were notified. The army said they were killed on the day of the attack at the Mefalsim junction and their bodies were transported to Gaza.
LEARN MORE: Discovery of body of Israeli hostage in Gaza renews pressure for release deal as ceasefire talks set to resume
The announcement comes less than a week after the army said it had found the bodies of three other Israeli hostages killed on October 7.
Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapped around 250 others during the October 7 attack. About half of those hostages have since been released, most in exchanges for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel during a week-long ceasefire in November.
Israel says around 100 hostages remain captive in Gaza, along with the bodies of at least 39 others, while 17 hostages’ bodies have been found.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged to eliminate Hamas and return all hostages, but he has made little progress. He faces pressure to resign and the United States has threatened to reduce its support for the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
On Friday, Netanyahu said the country had a duty to do everything to return those kidnapped, both those killed and those alive.
In a message published on Friday X, French President Emmanuel Macron offered his condolences to the family of Hernández Radoux, a French-Mexican citizen, saying that France remained determined to free the hostages.
Regarding the hostages, Israelis are divided into two main camps: those who want the government to put the war on hold and release the hostages, and others who think the hostages are an unfortunate price to pay for the eradication of Hamas . Intermittent negotiations by Qatar, the United States and Egypt have yielded little result.
Anger is growing in the country over the government’s handling of the hostage crisis.
Earlier this week, a group representing the families of the hostages released new video footage showing Hamas’ capture of five female Israeli soldiers near the Gaza border on October 7.
The video shows several young soldiers bloodied and injured. In one scene, an activist tells one of the terrified women that she is beautiful.
The video sparked new protests across the country demanding the release of the hostages.
The army said Friday that the hostages were found during an operation in Jabaliya. Military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told a news conference that the army was able to recover the bodies based on “critical intelligence” discovered last week by Israeli forces operating in Gaza. .
The group representing the hostages’ families said the bodies had been returned to their families for burial.
Nisenbaum, 59, was a Brazilian Israeli from the southern city of Sderot. He was taken hostage as he went to rescue his 4-year-old granddaughter.
Hernandez Radoux, 30, was removed from the Nova music festival, which he attended with his partner Shani Louk. Louk’s body was among those found by the army almost a week ago.
Yablonka, 42, a father of two, was also removed from the music festival. In December, his family told the AP that he loved music. Yablonka’s family did not hear from him for nearly two months after his kidnapping, without knowing whether he was alive or dead.
The Israeli offensive since the start of the war has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry, and caused a humanitarian crisis and near-starvation.
Although this has weakened Hamas’s capabilities, after nearly eight months of war, militants are regrouping in some of the hardest-hit areas of northern Gaza and resuming rocket attacks on neighboring Israeli communities. Israel says its troops operate in Rafah in the south, central Gaza and Jabaliya in the north.
Associated Press journalists Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv and John Leicester in Le Pecq, France, contributed
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