The bodies of Yonatan Samerano, Ofra Keidar and Shay Levinson, pictured left to right, were recovered on Saturday. Hostages and Missing Families Forum
"In a special operation... the bodies of the captives Ofra Keidar, Yonatan Samerano, and Staff Sergeant Shay Levinson were recovered from the Gaza Strip yesterday," the military said in a statement.
Samerano's father had announced earlier Sunday that his son's body, which was taken into Gaza after he was killed in a kibbutz in the territory on October 7, 2023, had been recovered by the Israeli army.
He paid tribute to "the brave soldiers of the Israeli military and the Shin Bet" security service in a message posted on Instagram.
The Israeli campaign group the Hostages and Missing Families Forum described Samerano as "a talented DJ who just wanted to make music, have fun, and travel".
Keidar, a 71-year-old mother of three, was a resident of Kibbutz Beeri, where over 100 people were killed.
Levinson, a 19-year-old tank commander, "engaged and fought terrorists on the morning of October 7 and fell in combat," a statement from the military said.
Following the news, the forum repeated their frequent calls for the release of the remaining captives in Gaza, writing on social media: "The hostages have no time. We must bring them ALL home, Now!".
Of the 251 hostages seized during Hamas' October 7 ofensive, 49 are still held in Gaza, including 27, the Israeli military says, are dead.
Released captives have reported that they were beaten and tortured by Hamas militants while held in isolation in tunnels snaking underneath Gaza.
Keith Siegel, a 66-year-old Israeli-American, told of experiencing and seeing various forms of abuse while in captivity during a recent interview with AFP.
One of the locations where Siegel was held was so far underground that he was "gasping for breath", he recalled.
Since 7 October 2023, Israel's genocidal war in Gaza has killed at least 55,908 people, most of them women and children, according to the Palestinian health ministry in the territory. The UN considers these figures reliable.
On Sunday, Israel's President Isaac Herzog called for the "urgent release" of the remaining captives after the United States carried out strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
"This brave step serves the security and safety of the entire free world. I hope it will lead to a better future for the Middle East - and help advance the urgent release of our hostages held in captivity in Gaza," Herzog wrote on X.
* This story was edited by Ahram Online.
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