The bodies of two slain Israeli hostages who Hamas-led terrorists abducted on October 7, 2023, were recovered by troops from Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday, the military said in a statement.

One of the hostages, Yair Yaakov, was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz and murdered by Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists during the onslaught, the military said.

The second hostage, whose name was set to be permitted for publication at a later time, was also abducted from Nir Oz and murdered during the onslaught. His family was notified that the body had been recovered.

The operation to recover the bodies was carried out by the army’s 36th Division and was “enabled by precise intelligence” obtained by the military’s Hostages Headquarters unit, the Military Intelligence Directorate, and the Shin Bet, the Israel Defense Forces said.

After the bodies were brought to Israel and identified at the National Institute of Forensic Medicine, also known as Abu Kabir, officials notified their families and the kibbutz.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered his condolences in a statement, saying: “Together with all citizens of Israel, my wife and I extend our heartfelt condolences to the families who lost their dearest loved ones.”

“We will not rest until we return all our hostages home, the living and dead,” he added.

Defense Minister Israel Katz said, “returning the bodies of the [slain hostages] during the expanded ground maneuver was set as one of the goals of the operation.”

Nir Oz was one of the worst-hit communities during Hamas’s October 7 terror onslaught.

In all, 47 people were killed in the kibbutz during the onslaught. Another 76 were abducted by the terrorists to Gaza. Currently, four hostages are presumed alive, and the bodies of five captives from Nir Oz remain held in the Strip.

Yaakov, 59, and his partner, Meirav Tal, were abducted from his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, as Hamas terrorists assaulted the community. Yaakov’s sons, Or and Yagil, were also taken captive from their mother’s nearby Nir Oz home.

Tal and Yaakov’s sons were released in a November 2023 hostage deal with Hamas.

Yagil thanked Israel’s security forces for recovering his father’s body in a post on Instagram. He expressed his hope that the remaining hostages will be returned “through a deal that doesn’t endanger soldiers.”

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, an Israeli television report claimed that Israel formulated a response to the latest offer in the ongoing hostage-ceasefire negotiations with Hamas that includes some flexibility but maintains its demand not to end the war.

According to the unsourced report in Channel 12 news, Israel is offering flexibility in the timeline of the release of hostages, as well as in lengthening the period of time of a ceasefire.

The report claimed, however, that Israel is standing firm on its refusal to agree to a permanent end to the war, and is also demanding to continue to control the distribution of humanitarian aid in the Strip.

The TV report said that the latest amendments were formulated in a limited meeting of officials last night that included Katz and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer.

The latest US proposal offered a 60-day truce in the war-torn Gaza Strip, accompanied by a partial Israeli military withdrawal and increased humanitarian aid deliveries, in exchange for the release of 10 living hostages and 18 deceased hostages. Hamas’s response to the offer included a demand that would make it more difficult for Israel to resume fighting if talks on a permanent ceasefire were not completed by the end of the 60-day truce.

Channel 12 also reported that several unnamed senior ministers have begun to speak out about the need to end the war against Hamas, citing the “diplomatic damage” being caused by the lengthy fighting and the enormous damage in Gaza.

Terror groups in the Gaza Strip are now holding 53 hostages, including 52 of the 251 abducted by Hamas-led terrorists on October 7, 2023.

They include the bodies of at least 31 confirmed dead by the IDF, and 20 are believed to be alive. There are grave concerns for the well-being of two others, Israeli officials have said.

Hamas released 30 hostages — 20 Israeli civilians, five soldiers, and five Thai nationals — and the bodies of eight slain Israeli captives during a ceasefire between January and March, and one additional hostage, a dual American-Israeli citizen, in May as a “gesture” to the United States.

The terror group freed 105 civilians during a weeklong truce in late November 2023, and four hostages were released before that in the early weeks of the war. In exchange, Israel has freed some 2,000 jailed Palestinian terrorists, security prisoners, and Gazan terror suspects detained during the war.

Eight hostages have been rescued from captivity by troops alive, and the bodies of 46 have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the Israeli military as they tried to escape their captors, and the body of a soldier who was killed in 2014.

The body of another soldier killed in 2014, Lt. Hadar Goldin, is still being held by Hamas, and is counted among the 53 hostages.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.