IDF confirms bodies of four hostages recovered, including soldier killed October 7

The Israel Defense Forces confirms that troops recovered the bodies of three hostages Wednesday and announces that the body of Sgt. Kiril Brodski, 19, was also brought back to Israel.

The hometowns of hostages Maya Goren, 56, Oren Goldin, 33, and Staff Sgt. Tomer Yaakov Ahimas, 20, had earlier announced that their bodies had been recovered in a military operation without providing details.

All four were killed by Hamas terrorists on October 7, and their bodies were kidnapped to the Gaza Strip. The military had previously announced their deaths, based on intelligence information and other findings following the onslaught.

On October 7, Brodski was serving alongside Ahimas in the forward command team of Col. Asaf Hamami, the commander of the Gaza Division’s Southern Brigade. All three were killed while trying to defend Kibbutz Nirim amid the onslaught and their remains were abducted. Hamami’s body still remains in Gaza.

The IDF says it had accurate intelligence that allowed troops with the 98th Division and members of the Shin Bet security agency to reach a site in Khan Younis where the bodies had been hidden, amid a new offensive in the city in the southern Gaza Strip.

It is now believed that 112 of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza, including the bodies of 40 confirmed dead by the IDF.

Brodski, from Ramat Gan, was declared dead on November 28 and a funeral for him was held a day later.

“Everything he achieved in his short life, he achieved on his own,” his mother Elana said at the funeral.

Goren, a Nir Oz kindergarten teacher, was setting up the kibbutz kindergarten space early on October 7 when Hamas terrorists attacked the community, killing her and kidnapping her body.

Goldin was a member of the Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak security team, and was also killed battling the terrorists.