The IDF reported Saturday night that Israeli forces discovered several bodies during ongoing operations in the Gaza Strip.
Forces are currently working in the sector to recover and identify the bodies, a process expected to take several hours. The IDF urges the public to refrain from spreading rumors.
On Tuesday, the IDF and Shin Bet successfully recovered the body of an Israeli soldier who was killed and kidnapped to Gaza during the October 7 attacks. The soldier's family has requested that his identity remain undisclosed. The soldier had been declared dead and his body held in Gaza months ago. Since then, intensive intelligence efforts and concentrated investigations aimed to locate his remains, which were ultimately found buried, but not in a tunnel.
Following the recovery of the soldier's body—and prior to the latest update—the number of hostages held in Gaza, both alive and deceased, stood at 107. Of these, 35 are officially classified as deceased. However, according to foreign reports and assessments, the actual number of living hostages may be significantly lower.
The recovery of the soldier’s body occurred less than a day after the IDF rescued Farhan Alkadi, an Israeli hostage who was found alive in a Hamas tunnel in southern Gaza. According to a report by The New York Times, IDF forces operating in the underground complex encountered Alkadi "by chance" while acting on intelligence that suggested hostages might be present. Alkadi later recounted to relatives that "when the soldiers entered the tunnel, the Hamas fighters fled. The soldiers called out to me, but I was afraid the tunnel was rigged with explosives, so I moved slowly."
Farhan Alkadi's rescue from Gaza
(Video: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
The Cabinet meeting this week extended into early Friday morning and ministers unexpectedly voted to maintain Israeli presence along Gaza's Philadelphi Corridor. Sources familiar with the negotiations for a potential deal expressed concern, warning that talks were at risk of collapsing.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant was the only minister to oppose the decision. Expressing his anger over the decision to remain on the Philadelphi Corridor, Gallant said, "What has happened to us? We're talking about people who were kidnapped from their beds."