Israeli forces retrieve bodies of three hostages from Gaza

A poster of hostage Jonathan Samerano is seen at a demonstration calling for the release of Israeli hostages held by Palestinian terrorists after the Oct. 7 attack, near Azrieli Mall in Tel Aviv, Oct. 24, 2023. (Ahmad Gharabli/AFP via Getty Images)

By Andrew Silow-Carroll June 23, 2025

(JTA) — Israeli forces recovered the bodies of three slain hostages from the Gaza Strip in a military operation, the IDF announced Sunday morning.

The bodies of Ofra Keidar, Jonathan Samerano and Staff Sgt. Shay Levinson were brought to Israel for identification at National Center of Forensic Medicine in Tel Aviv before their families were notified.

Keidar, 70, was murdered by Hamas-led terrorists on Oct. 7, 2023 near her home in Kibbutz Be’eri. Her death, like that of the other recovered hostages, was confirmed soon after the attacks. Her husband was killed separately in their home, and a daughter survived huddled in their home’s safe room.

“There is comfort, we will finally have a proper grave to visit,” their son, Elad Keidar, told Army Radio following news that his mother’s body had been retrieved.

Samerano, 22, who lived in Tel Aviv, was killed at the Nova music festival before his body was abducted to Gaza. One of his captors was said to be an employee of UNRWA, the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees. Allegations that 12 people employed by the agency took part in the attack led Israel to cancel a cooperation agreement with UNRWA dating back to 1967.

Writing on Instagram, Samerano’s father, Kobi, remembered the son the family called “Yonati.”

“Yesterday was Yonati’s Hebrew birthday. On his 23rd birthday, on the very day he was born, our Yonati was rescued in a heroic operation by the brave soldiers of the IDF and the Shin Bet,” Kobi Samerano wrote. “Yonati, we were blessed to live by your side for 21-and-a-half years of light.”

Levinson, 19, a tank commander, was killed during the terrorist attack in Nahal Oz on Oct 7. A resident of Giv’at Avni in northern Israel, he played volleyball in Israel’s top league for Eilabun, a nearby Arab town.

Fifty hostages are still be held in Gaza by Hamas and other terror groups. They include the bodies of at least 28 confirmed dead by the IDF.

In a statement, The Hostages and Missing Families Forum welcomed the return of the bodies and urged the government to use the “historic window of opportunity” created by the largely successful attacks on Iran to secure a deal to free the remaining hostages.

“We wish to express our deep gratitude to the IDF and security forces who acted with dedication and courage,” the forum said in a statement. “We want to emphasize that bringing back the remaining 50 hostages is the key to achieving any sort of victory.”