Israeli forces recover bodies of two hostages in Gaza, PM says

Israeli security forces operating in Gaza have recovered the bodies of two Israeli hostages, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says.

He named one of them as Yair (Yaya) Yaakov, a 59-year-old father of three who was killed inside his home at Kibbutz Nir Oz by Palestinian Islamic Jihad gunmen during the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023.

His teenage sons, Or and Yagil, and partner, Meirav Tal, were abducted alive and released in November 2023, as part of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.

Netanyahu said the name of the other male hostage had not yet been released, but that his family had been informed.

There are now 53 hostages still being held by Hamas in Gaza, at least 20 of whom are believed to be alive.

News of the recovery of Yair Yaakov's body initially came from his sons.

"Dad, I love you," Yagil wrote in an Instagram post on Wednesday evening, according to the newspaper Haaretz. "I don't know how to respond yet. I'm sad to say this. I'm waiting for your funeral, I love you and knew this day would come."

Yagil also thanked the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Shin Bet internal security service, and expressed hope that the remaining hostages "will be brought [back] in a deal that doesn't risk soldiers".

Netanyahu later issued a statement saying: "Together with all the citizens of Israel, my wife and I extend our deepest condolences to the families who have lost their most beloved.

"I thank the soldiers and commanders for another successful execution of the sacred mission to return our hostages."

The IDF said the hostages' bodies were recovered in the Khan Younis area, in southern Gaza.

The operation was made possible by "precise intelligence" from its Hostage Task Force and Intelligence Directorate, as well as the Shin Bet, it added.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which represents many hostages' families, said in a statement that it "bows its head in sorrow over the murder of Yaya and shares in the profound grief of the Yaakov family".

"There are no words to express the depth of this pain," it added. "The hostages have no time. We must bring them all home, Now!"

On Tuesday, Netanyahu said there had been "significant progress" in efforts to secure the release of the remaining hostages, adding: "We are working tirelessly right now, and all the time. I hope we will be able to move forward."

However, senior Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi rejected the prime minister's remarks on Wednesday, saying they were "illusive and misleading" and intended to "abort any real deal to return the captives", according to the Shehab news agency.

Israeli forces have retrieved the bodies of three other hostages who were taken from Nir Oz in southern Gaza over the past week.

On Friday, they found the body of Nattapong Pinta, a Thai national, in the Rafah area.

The 35-year-old had been working as an agricultural labourer at the kibbutz when he was kidnapped by the Mujahideen Brigades group on 7 October. An Israeli military official said he was likely to have been killed during his first months of captivity.

And on Wednesday night, Israeli forces in Khan Younis found the bodies of two Israeli-American residents of Nir Oz.

Judi Weinstein Haggai, 70, who was also a Canadian citizen, and her husband Gadi Haggai, 72, were killed by Mujahideen Brigades gunmen on 7 October.

Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza in response to the unpresented attack, in which about a total of 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage.

Another four people, two of whom were dead, were already being held captive in Gaza before the conflict.

So far, 202 hostages have been returned, 148 of them alive, mostly through two temporary ceasefire deals with Hamas.

At least 55,104 people have been killed in Gaza during the war, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.