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IDF operation in Rafah recovers body of 4th Israeli hostage

The body was identified as Ron Benjamin, who was killed at the Mefsalim intersection by Hamas before his body was captured and taken to Gaza.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

The IDF announced on Saturday that it recovered from Gaza the 4th body of an Israeli killed by Hamas at the Nova music festival.

The body was identified as Ron Benjamin, who was killed at the Mefsalim intersection by Hamas before his body was captured and taken to Gaza.

This news follows the IDF’s announcement on Friday that they recovered the bodies of 3 Israelis who attended the Nova music festival on October 7th and were killed escaping Hamas.

The bodies of Israelis murdered by Hamas were identified on Friday as Itzhak Gelerenter, Amit Buskila, and Shani Louk.

Hamas captured the bodies of the four Israelis some distance from the music festival after they were killed escaping the terrorist onslaught.

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The body of Shani Louk, a 23-year-old German-Israeli, was seen on October 7th thrown on the back of a truck as Hamas terrorists paraded her body through the streets of Gaza.

The IDF didn’t disclose where the bodies were discovered but mentioned they were able to retrieve them following an intensive operation carried out in cooperation with Shin Bet.

CNN analyst and Axios reporter Barak Ravid, citing an IDF spokesperson, reported the bodies were found in a tunnel in Gaza.

Shani Louk’s father Nissim said his daughter’s body was well-preserved because it was kept in a “deep and very cold tunnel.”

Shani Louk was declared dead by the Minister of Foreign Affairs in October after forensic examiners found a fragment of bone from her skull.

Although her death was confirmed early in the conflict, Shani Louk’s parents said the recovery of her body has given the family a full sense of closure.

In a statement, the Louk family said, “Every news like this brings us back to the horrific moment we had to find out that our loving daughter was brutally murdered by Hamas on the 7th of October.”

“However, it is also a relief to get the body back and we are now able to bury her close by. It gives us some kind of closure.”

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In an X post on Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote, “The heart breaks for the great loss. My wife Sara and I grieve with the families. All our hearts are with them in this hour of grieving.”

He added, “We will return all our hostages, the dead and the alive alike. I congratulate our brave forces who, with determined action, have returned our sons and daughters home,” he added.