Returned bodies identified as last female hostage Inbar Haiman, slain officer Muhammad el-Atrash

IDF representatives have notified the families of Inbar Haiman, 27, and Sgt. Maj. Muhammad el-Atrash, 39, that their bodies were returned to Israel by Hamas last night, following their identification by forensic experts, the military says.

Haiman had been murdered by terrorists at the Nova music festival near Re’im on October 7, 2023, and her body was abducted to Gaza, the IDF says, citing intelligence information. Her death was officially declared in December 2023.

She was the last female still held in Gaza.

El-Atrash, a father of 13 who served as a tracker in the Gaza Division’s Northern Brigade, was killed while fighting Hamas terrorists in the Nahal Oz area on the morning of the onslaught, and his body was abducted, the army says. His death was officially declared in June 2024.

The Prime Minister’s Office in a statement says that the government “shares in the deep sorrow of the Haiman and el-Atrash families and all the families of the fallen hostages.”

“The government and all branches of Israel’s national security system are determined, committed, and working tirelessly to bring back all our fallen hostages for proper burial in their homeland,” the PMO adds.