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Israel Recovers Bodies of Hostages Killed in Hamas Terror Attack
On October 7, 2022, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) found the bodies of three hostages who were murdered by Hamas terrorists during an attack on the Nova Music Festival.
The victims were identified as Shani Louk, a 23-year-old German-Israeli tattoo artist; Amit Buskila, a 28-year-old Israeli; and Itzik Gelenter, a 53-year-old Israeli.
According to IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari, the three hostages were brutally murdered when they tried to escape during the attack. Their bodies were then dragged into the Gaza Strip.
The death of Louk had been confirmed by Israel in late October. A video that circulated on social media at the time showed her half-naked body slung across the back of a pick-up truck and paraded through Gaza.
The family of Gelenter had been "in total darkness" about his fate until Friday, his daughter, Yarden Pivko, told Channel 12 News.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the news "heartbreaking." "This terrible loss is heart-breaking... We will return all of our hostages, the living and the deceased alike," he said.
The Nova festival victims accounted for nearly a third of the around 1,170 people killed in the October 7 attack, most of them civilians.
Israel launched a retaliatory offensive against Hamas that has killed at least 35,303 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to data from the Hamas-run territory's health ministry.
Source: Israel Recovers 3 Hostages' Bodies, Including German Woman Who Was Paraded Naked