Human Rights Voices

The bodies of five Israelis killed and taken hostage by terrorists on October 7 were recovered by troops operating in the southern Gaza Strip and brought back to Israel on Wednesday, officials said.

Ravid Katz, 51, Oren Goldin, 33, Maya Goren, 56, Sgt. Kiril Brodski, 19, and Staff Sgt. Tomer Yaakov Ahimas, 20, were all previously declared dead by the Israel Defense Forces, though their bodies continued to be held in Gaza until Wednesday.

All five were killed on October 7 and their bodies were dragged into Gaza by Hamas-led terrorists.

Their remains were located in a tunnel in Khan Younis on Wednesday by troops, including special forces under the IDF’s 98th Division and Shin Bet agents, the military and security agency said early Thursday.

According to the military, Shin Bet interrogations of detained terrorists in Gaza and other intelligence allowed troops to reach the tunnel in Khan Younis and recover the bodies, amid a new offensive in the city in the southern Gaza Strip.

“It’s hard to describe in words how an operation of this kind feels. The sense of responsibility, the magnitude of the moment, the understanding of the importance of the task, everything boils down to one moment when you realize you’ve arrived at the right place,” a Shin Bet agent who participated in the operation said.

Meanwhile, an IDF reservist who on Wednesday filmed and circulated a video showing the recovery of the bodies was to be jailed for 10 days and permanently dismissed from reserve duty, the military said.

The video filmed by the reservist showed five body bags in a military vehicle driving out of the Gaza Strip.

The clip circulated on social media very shortly after the bodies were recovered from Khan Younis, and hours before the remains were identified.

“The IDF views such incidents with severity, and condemns behavior that endangers the security of our forces, and harms the families of the hostages,” the military said.

The IDF said the reservist acted “completely against” military protocol, and was therefore sentenced by the commander of the 98th Division to 10 days in military prison and dismissed from reserve duty.

There are now thought to be 111 hostages in Gaza, including the remains of 39 confirmed dead by the IDF, out of the 251 people abducted during the Hamas onslaught nearly 300 days ago.

The recoveries came as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has faced intense pressure to reach a deal with Hamas potentially ending the war and swapping the remaining hostages for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli custody.

Brodski and Ahimas were killed while serving in the forward command team of Col. Asaf Hamami, the commander of the Gaza Division’s Southern Brigade, who was also killed on October 7 as they tried to fight off dozens of Hamas terrorists invading kibbutz Nirim. The bodies of all three were abducted to Gaza, where Hamami’s remains are believed to still be.

Ahimas‘s brothers told Kan public radio that when Hamami was wounded, “Tomer sort of took control and led the battle against an unimaginable amount of terrorists, while he tried to care for the brigade chief and radio for help several times.”

They said that residents of Nirim told them that were it not for the three, “The kibbutz would have absorbed an even greater tragedy than it did that Saturday.”

A burial for Ahimas, from the southern town of Lehavim, was planned for Thursday. A funeral was previously held for him in November, when his death was confirmed.

Brodski, whose family also held a funeral for him in November, was a native of Ramat Gan in central Israel, where he and his father Victor fostered a motorcycle hobby.

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

Goldin, who ran Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak’s mechanic shop, was among the first members of the community’s civilian defense team to respond to the attack. He was killed in the fighting and his body was taken to Gaza.

Goldin was considered alive but missing until November 9 when his family was informed that his death had been confirmed.

“For almost 10 months, we have called and wished for the return of his body to Israel so that he could be buried in the home he loved so much,” the kibbutz said in a statement.

Goren, from Nir Oz, was setting up the kibbutz’s kindergarten on the morning of October 7 when the Hamas attack erupted and she was snatched by the terrorists. Her husband, Avner, also 56, was murdered inside the couple’s home during the attack.

On December 1, the kibbutz and the IDF confirmed that she had been killed. A funeral date was not announced at the time, although the family sat shiva, the traditional mourning period.

Gal, the Gorens’ son, wrote after his mother’s death was confirmed that his family had hoped and prayed things would turn out differently.

“Mom, for more than 56 days you were on the other side of the fence, and our hearts did not stop worrying and missing you,” he wrote. “And then we got the news — you are on the other side of the fence, but no longer with us, and our hearts stopped beating. Even now I cannot stop thinking about you.”

Katz was a member of the Kibbutz Nir Oz security team, who battled the terrorists on October 7, before being killed and his body abducted.

On that Saturday, Ravid made sure his wife and four-month-old baby were safe with neighbors in their sealed room and went to fight the terrorists with the kibbutz security team. Ravid’s wife and baby survived the assault, after hiding for hours.

Troops operating in Gaza have managed so far to rescue seven hostages alive, along with the remains of 24 other captives, including the four recovered Wednesday and three abductees mistakenly killed by the military as they tried to escape their captors.

Hamas released 105 civilians during a weeklong truce in late November, and four hostages were released before that.

One more person is listed as missing since October 7, and their fate is still unknown.

Hamas is also holding two Israeli civilians who entered the Strip in 2014 and 2015, as well as the bodies of two IDF soldiers who were killed in 2014.