The Israel Defense Forces on Saturday identified the body of an Israeli hostage recovered in Gaza as Idan Shtivi.
Shtivi, 28, was killed and his body taken by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, while attending the Nova music festival, where he came to support his friends’ performances. Nearly two years later, as part of a “special operation” on Friday, the IDF recovered Shtivi’s body.
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Following the identification, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Shtivi, a student in sustainability and government at the time, as a “brave person” who tried to help festivalgoers escape the massacre that killed nearly 400 people at the music event alone.
The death toll from the terrorist attack as a whole sits at 1,200, while over 250 were taken hostage. Of those hostages, 207 have been returned, with 148 of them alive, Netanyahu said on Saturday.
“We will continue to take relentless and determined action, in various ways, to bring back all of our hostages, the living and the deceased,” he added.
As part of the IDF military operation, they also recovered the body of Ilan Weiss, who was killed on Oct. 7 while responding to the attack in one of the kibbutzim in southern Israel. Weiss’s wife and daughter were also taken hostage then, but were released as part of a temporary ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas in 2023.
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Israel has been facing international pressure to end its war against Hamas, which it has vowed to completely eliminate, and secure the release of the remaining hostages, about 20 of whom are thought to be alive.
Such a peace deal does not appear to be coming to fruition anytime soon, however, as the Israeli military readies a military campaign to take control of Gaza City, an operation that could take months.