The statement claimed that the operation resulted in the recovery of the bodies of Ofra Kider (71 years old) and Yonathan Samrano (21 years old), residents of the Be'eri settlement, in addition to the body of soldier Shai Levinson, first sergeant and tank commander in the Oz Battalion (77), who was killed during a clash with Hamas members on October 7, 2023.
The occupation indicated that the identification process was conducted by the military police and the military rabbinate, after which the families and the community in the Be'eri settlement were officially notified.
In a statement reported by the Hebrew newspaper Maariv, Samrano's father confirmed the recovery of his son's body from Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered his condolences to the families of the three dead, stressing that operations to recover the remaining Israeli detainees would continue, in parallel with what he described as the "battle against Iran."
According to the Hebrew newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, approximately 50 Israeli prisoners remain in the Gaza Strip, at least 20 of whom are believed to be alive.
In contrast, Hamas has repeatedly declared its willingness to release all Israeli prisoners in one go, in exchange for a ceasefire, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip, and the release of Palestinian prisoners. However, the Israeli government continues to reject these demands, proposing additional conditions, including the disarmament of Palestinian factions, and Netanyahu's confirmation of a move toward reoccupying Gaza.
This comes in the context of the ongoing Israeli military aggression on the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, with US support. The aggression has so far resulted in more than 186,000 deaths and injuries, the majority of whom are children and women, in addition to more than 11,000 missing persons, and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of residents.
