On Friday evening, IDF Spokesman Daniel Hagri announced the return of the bodies of three hostages from the Gaza Strip to Israel: Yitzhak Gellernter, Shani Lok, and Amit Buskila. On Saturday, Hagri announced the return of another body –Ron Benjamin, whose condition had not been known until now. The four were all killed on October 7, according to the IDF’s aggregate information.
The IDF did not publish much information about the special operation: It seems that this was a successful collaboration by the IDF and the Shin Bet, based mainly on information from interrogators and captives, and field analyses. The operation was carried out by special forces, without any encounters or casualties. The location of the operation is confidential, but given that the four abductees were killed in the Mefalsim area (opposite of Beit Hanoun), it can be assumed that this was carried out in coordination with the latest maneuver by Division 98 in the northern Gaza Strip and the Jabaliya refugee camp in particular.
With the return of the four hotages, the State of Israel reached an equal point: Of the 256 abductees held by Hamas on October 8, 128 were returned to Israel, the vast majority alive, and 128 remain in the Gaza Strip, of whom at least 39 are known to have been killed.
Netanyahu addressed the rescue operation, saying: “We are all strong in this hard hour. We will bring back all our hostages, the living and the dead alike. I congratulate our brave forces, who in determined action have returned boys and girls to their borders.”