Netanyahu Announces the Recovery of the Body of an Israeli Hostage from Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced today (Wednesday) that Israel had recovered the body of an Israeli hostage who was kidnapped on October 7, 2023, during the Hamas attack and killed in Gaza while in captivity.

The Prime Minister stated in a press release: “In a special operation, we recovered the body of the hostage Itay Sefersky, who was kidnapped on October 7 from Kibbutz Be’eri and killed in captivity by Hamas terrorists in January 2024.”

According to Reuters, the Israeli army had earlier stated that it had recovered Sefersky’s body.

A statement from the Hostage Families Forum, representing the families of those held by Hamas, noted that the return of “Itay’s body for a proper burial in Israel provides a necessary closure for his family.”