


Israeli forces retrieved the bodies of five Israeli hostages held in Gaza, the Israeli military said on Thursday, amid growing international pressure for a cease-fire deal that would involve the release of the remaining captives.
The five hostages — Maya Goren, 56; Tomer Ahimas, 20; Kiril Brodski, 19; Oren Goldin, 33; and Ravid Katz, 51 — were already presumed dead by Israeli officials. Mr. Brodski and Mr. Ahimas were soldiers who fell during the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, while the other three were civilians whose bodies were brought back to Gaza as bargaining chips.
The Israeli military said that the bodies were found in the Khan Younis area on Wednesday and that intelligence — including information from detained Palestinian militants — had guided forces to their location. Israel has been carrying out a new operation in Khan Younis this week, using tanks and fighter jets to strike what it has described as Hamas infrastructure in the southern Gaza city.
More than 250 people were abducted during the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, according to Israel, and 105 were released during a brief cease-fire in November. Israeli officials say 115 hostages remain in Gaza, including 40 who are presumed dead.
Ms. Goren was a kindergarten teacher from Nir Oz, one of the hardest-hit communities near the Gaza border; her husband was also killed on Oct. 7. Mr. Katz, also from Nir Oz, was a father of three children. The body of Mr. Goldin, a member of a nearby village’s civil response squad, was taken along with that of his brother-in-law Tal Haimi, whose body is still in Gaza.