Israeli army says bodies of 3 hostages recovered in Gaza

The Israeli military said on Sunday that it had recovered the bodies of three hostages in Gaza more than 20 months after they were abducted by the Palestinian group Hamas.

"In a special operation... the bodies of the hostages Ofra Keidar, Yonatan Samerano and Staff Sergeant Shay Levinson were recovered from the Gaza Strip yesterday," the military said in a statement.

The attack by Palestinian group Hamas on Israel in October 2023 resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Of the 251 hostages seized during the assault, 49 are still held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.

Israel's retaliatory military campaign has killed at least 55,908 people, also mostly civilians, according to the Gaza health ministry in the Hamas-run territory. The UN considers these figures reliable.

Agence France-Presse