Israeli troops found the bodies of another three hostages in Jabalia in Gaza, a city located in the north of Gaza from which IDF troops had previously withdrawn.
Hamas has been holding the bodies of Hanan Yablonka (42), Orion Hernandez Radoux (30), and Michel Nisenbaum (59) for seven months.
Last week, soldiers discovered the bodies of Shani Louk (22), Amit Buskila (28), and Itzhak Gelerenter (56).
The Jabalia Refugee Camp is a camp of refugees near the city founded in 1948 by the United Nations. The camp now has over 100,000 residents. IDF says Hamas created a stronghold within the camp. The U.N. was criticized for not having enough oversight over its Gazan assistance programs, which include buildings, resources, and staff found to be linked with Hamas. IDF recently left the area but returned after reports indicated that Hamas had begun to regroup.
Orion Hernandez Radoux, the boyfriend of Shani Louisk was a Nova festival attendee whose distorted physique was paraded on October 7th by Hamas in one of most tragic and memorable images of the conflict. He was the father of a child and a French Mexican citizen.
Michel Nisenbaum, a grandfather to six children, was killed while on his way home from picking up his granddaughter aged four.
Hanan Yablonka was a father of two children aged 12 and 9 and was also with four friends who were killed by militants.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a statement offering his condolences:
“Together, with the citizens in Israel, my wife Sara, and I, bow our heads and embrace the grieving family in their difficult times. We have a moral and national duty to do all we can to bring back our abducted, both the people and the places,” he wrote.
Netanyahu’s war efforts have been criticized from all sides. International pressure has been applied to him in order for him to be more aggressive when pursuing his goal of defeating Hamas, and returning hostages. He is determined to win this battle at all costs. Many hostage families in Israel want a deal to be made that will bring their loved one home at all costs, even if it means ending the conflict. Some members of Netanyahu’s far-right party have threatened to retaliate if he allowed a hostage agreement that would hurt the war effort against Hamas.
Only a successful war effort, Hamas’ defeat, and the return of hostages home will bring closure to the nation of Israel, as well as the families of those held hostage.
