Deceased hostage returned by Hamas identified as Meny Godard, from Kibbutz Be’eri

Military representatives have notified the family of Meny Godard that his body was returned to Israel by Hamas tonight, after forensic experts completed their identification.

Godard, 73, was murdered by Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists in Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7, 2023, alongside his wife Ayelet, 63, and his body was abducted to Gaza by the Hamas-allied terror group.

The couple is survived by their children, Mor, Gal, Bar, and Goni, a number of grandchildren, and several siblings.

In March, troops recovered findings belonging to Godard at an Islamic Jihad post in southern Gaza’s Rafah. The findings found at the post were taken to Israel and identified as belonging to Godard, but his body remained held in Gaza.

Hamas, in a joint statement with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, said that the body had been located in the Khan Younis area of southern Gaza earlier today.

The bodies of three slain hostages now remain held in the Strip — two Israelis and one Thai national: Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, Dror Or and Sudthisak Rinthalak.

“The Israeli government shares in the deep sorrow of the Godard family and of all the families of the fallen hostages,” the Prime Minister’s Office says in a statement.

The PMO says that Israel is “determined, committed, and working tirelessly” to bring back the remaining three slain hostages for burial, adding that Hamas is “required to fulfill its commitments to the mediators and return them as part of the implementation of the agreement.”