Israel Finds Bodies of Three Hostages Abducted by Hamas in Gaza

The Israeli army announced that on Friday night, May 28, it found the bodies of three hostages abducted by Hamas militants during a 'terrorist attack' on October 7 of last year in Gaza. The identities of the deceased hostages are Shani Louk, a 22-year-old Israeli-German woman whose image in the back of a pickup truck during the attack sparked global outrage, along with Amit Buskila, 28, and Itzhak Gelerntner, 56. Daniel Hagari, a spokesperson for the Israeli army, stated that these three were participants in the 'Nova' music festival. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also described the deaths of these citizens as 'heartbreaking' and added, 'We will bring back all our hostages, whether they are alive or dead.' The Israeli army has not released specific information about the exact location where the bodies were found. Israel is currently engaged in operations in Rafah and claims that the hostages are being held in that city. Following the October 7 attack by Hamas on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,200 people and the abduction of over 250 others, Israel launched an offensive in Gaza aimed at destroying this group supported by the Islamic Republic and recovering the hostages. During negotiations mediated by the United States, Qatar, and Egypt last autumn, over 100 hostages were freed, but approximately 130 Israeli hostages remain captive by Hamas in Gaza, and Israel believes that at least 100 of them are still alive. Hamas officials have repeatedly emphasized that they will carry out similar attacks if possible. Hamas claims that over 35,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed and about 75,000 others injured as a result of the Israeli offensive, without specifying the number of its own members killed. Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas of using civilians as human shields. The Persian section of Voice of America cannot independently verify or confirm the statistics provided by Hamas. The United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Japan, Israel, and several other countries have designated Hamas as a terrorist organization. Concurrently, as the war between Israel and Hamas continues, the Israeli army announced on Friday that it had eliminated a senior commander of the 'Islamic Group of Lebanon' named Sharhabil Ali Al-Sayed in southern Lebanon. According to the Jerusalem Post, this 'terrorist group commander' had led numerous attacks against Israel from Lebanese territory in collaboration with Hamas's branch in Lebanon and Hezbollah. As military operations intensify in the north, international aid has begun to enter Gaza through a floating dock built by the United States. Simultaneous operations in northern and southern Gaza; the Israeli army reports that 150 Hamas militants have been killed in Jabalia. Israel states that the UN Security Council has not taken any action to free hostages in Gaza so far. The Arab League has called for the deployment of UN peacekeeping forces to 'Palestinian territories.' The Palestinian Authority reports that three individuals were killed in an Israeli attack in the West Bank. Netanyahu stated that he is not willing to replace 'Hamasistan' with 'Fatahistan.'