IDF Confirms Body of Israeli Hostage Recovered in Gaza

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced that the body of one of the hostages taken by Hamas on October 7, 2023, had been recovered during an operation in Gaza.

In a post on X, IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari revealed that the body of Ron Benjamin, 53, who had been taken hostage by Hamas terrorists, was recovered during a special joint operation conducted by the IDF and Israeli Security Agency (ISA), also known as the ShinBet.

Benjamin’s body was recovered along with the bodies of Yitzhak Gelranter, Shani Louk, and Amit Buskila.

Hagari explained that “verified intelligence information” showed that Benjamin had been murdered on October 7 when Hamas attacked Israel, leaving 1,200 people dead and more than 250 people taken as hostages. Benjamin’s body was taken “to Gaza by Hamas terrorists.”

“According to verified intelligence information in our possession, the late Ron Binyamin was murdered during the brutal terrorist attack on October 7 in the Mefalim siege, and his body was kidnapped to Gaza by Hamas terrorists,” Hagari wrote on Saturday.

The joint operation conducted by the IDF and ISA was carried out “based on information” that was received from terrorists who had been “arrested in the Gaza Strip” and interrogated, and based on the “intelligence guidance of the Captives and Missing Persons Command in the intelligence department.”

“After an identification procedure carried out by medical officials at the National Institute of Forensic Medicine and the Israel Police, IDF representatives notified the family during the day,” Hagari wrote.

Hamas terrorists abducted Benjamin after he had come back home from a bike ride on October 7 after hearing sirens go off around 6:30 a.m., according to the Times of Israel.

While some hostages have been freed, there are still around 130 hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza. Out of the hostages taken by Hamas, the IDF believes 40 are dead.