The Israeli army announced this Friday that it recovered the body of French-Israeli Elya Toledano in the Gaza Strip and repatriated it to Israel.
Toledano was kidnapped on October 7 during the attack by the Islamist movement Hamas on the Tribe of Nova music festival, in which he was participating with his French-Israeli friend Mia Shem, released under a truce agreement at the end of November.
“During the operation in Gaza, the body of hostage Elya Toledano (28 years old) was recovered by army special forces and repatriated to Israel,” the Israeli army said in a statement, adding that forensic doctors correctly identified the body.
In recent weeks, the hostages’ families had said they did not know if Elya Toledano was still alive.
“The Israeli army offers the family its deepest condolences,” he added, ensuring that the young man’s family had been informed before the release of the note.
Israel declared war on Hamas, in power in the Gaza Strip since 2007, in retaliation for the October 7 attack on Israeli territory that killed about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, Israeli authorities said.
Some 240 people were also kidnapped and taken to Gaza on the day of the attack. About 135, according to the military, remain in the hands of Hamas and affiliated groups, following the release of 105 hostages during a seven-day truce that ended on December 1.
This week, the families of the hostages demanded explanations from the authorities, after the director of Israel’s foreign secret services, the Mossad, stated that he refused to carry out new negotiations to free those kidnapped by Hamas, considered a terrorist organization by the EU, the United States and Israel.
Source: TSF
