IDF Spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari confirmed in a statement on Friday that IDF forces recovered the bodies of three hostages from the Gaza Strip in a joint IDF and ISA operation.
The bodies are those of Yitzhak Gelernter, Shani Louk, and Amit Buskila.
The IDF noted that based on verified intelligence, Gelernter, Louk, and Buskila were murdered during the October 7th Massacre at the Mefalsim Intersection, and their bodies were abducted to Gaza.
The bodies of the hostages were rescued during a joint IDF and ISA operation, based on precise ISA intelligence obtained during the interrogations of terrorists who were apprehended in the Gaza Strip, as well as intelligence from IDF Intelligence Directorate's Headquarters for the Hostages and Missing Persons.
Following an identification procedure carried out by medical officials at the Israeli National Forensic Institute and the Ministry of Health, IDF representatives notified their families. The IDF and ISA send their heartfelt condolences to the families.
The IDF Spokesperson called on the public to refrain from spreading unfounded rumors and fake news and to listen to official announcements.
"The IDF and ISA continue, even at this time, to deploy all operational and intelligence means and to take operational risks in order to accomplish the supreme national task of bringing back all the hostages," the IDF Spokesperson stated.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commented on the recovery of the bodies: "This terrible loss is heart-breaking. My wife Sara and I grieve with the families; all of our hearts are with them in their hour of heavy sorrow. We will return all of our hostages, the living and the deceased alike.
"I commend our brave forces whose determined action has returned the 'sons and daughters to within their own border'." (The last phrase is a quote from Jeremiah 31.)