IDF announces bodies of three slain hostages, Ofra Keidar, Yonatan Samerano, and Shay Levinson, recovered from Gaza

The bodies of three slain hostages, Ofra Keidar, Yonatan Samerano, and Staff Sgt. Shay Levinson, were recovered in a joint military and Shin Bet operation from the Gaza Strip overnight, the IDF announces.

The operation to recover the bodies was carried out by the Gaza Division, and was “enabled by precise intelligence” obtained by the military’s Hostages Headquarters unit, the Military Intelligence Directorate, and the Shin Bet, the IDF says.

Keidar, 71, was murdered by Hamas-led terrorists in Kibbutz Be’eri during the October 7, 2023, onslaught, and abducted to Gaza.

Ofra Keidar. (Courtesy)

Samerano, 22, fled from the Nova music festival to Be’eri with two friends, where they were murdered, and his body was abducted.

Yonatan Samerano was killed on October 7, 2023 and his body taken hostage by Hamas terrorists (Courtesy)

Levinson, 19, was a tank commander stationed on the Gaza border on the morning of the onslaught. He was killed while battling the invading Hamas terrorists near the Nova party, and his body was abducted to Gaza.

Shay Levinson was killed and taken captive by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023. (Courtesy)

The three bodies were brought to Israel for identification at the Abu Kabir forensic institute, after which their families were notified.

Terror groups in the Gaza Strip are now holding 50 hostages, including 49 of the 251 abducted by Hamas-led terrorists on October 7, 2023. They include the bodies of at least 28 confirmed dead by the IDF. Twenty are believed to be alive and there are grave concerns for the well-being of two others, Israeli officials have said. Hamas is also holding the body of an IDF soldier killed in Gaza in 2014.