IDF also confirms Yossi Sharabi, Cpt. Daniel Perez as slain hostages returned yesterday

Yossi Sharabi, 53, and IDF officer Cpt. Daniel Perez, 22,  are the two additional hostages whose bodies were returned to Israel by Hamas yesterday and identified by forensic experts this morning, the Prime Minister’s Office announces.

Earlier, the IDF said its representatives notified the families of Guy Illouz, 26, Nepali national Bipin Joshi, 23, and two other hostages — whose names were not immediately published — that their bodies were returned.

“The Israeli government shares in the deep sorrow of the Illouz, Joshi, Perez, and Sharabi families and of all the families of the fallen hostages,” the PMO says.

It says that Israel is “determined, committed, and working tirelessly” to bring back all of the 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.”

According to the military, Sharabi, who was abducted by Hamas terrorists from Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7, 2023, was likely inadvertently killed as a result of an IDF strike in January 2024. Sharabi was in a building that collapsed after an adjacent building was hit in a strike.

Perez was stationed near the Gaza border on the morning of October 7, and he and his tank crew fought for hours against the Hamas invasion until being killed alongside Sgt. Tomer Leibovitz and Staff Sgt. Itay Chen.

The bodies of Perez and Chen were taken captive to Gaza, while their comrade Matan Angrest was abducted alive and freed from Hamas captivity yesterday.