JERUSALEM—Israeli forces recovered on July 24 the bodies of five hostages killed in the Hamas terrorist group’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack and held in Gaza since, the Israeli military said.
Maya Goren, a 56-year-old kindergarten teacher, was killed during the attack on her kibbutz, Nir Oz, one of the communities hit hardest in the deadly attack in southern Israel that triggered the Israel–Hamas war, according to Israeli Army Radio.
The other four hostages were two reserve soldiers and two conscript soldiers killed in combat during the Oct. 7 attack, the military said.
Their bodies were retrieved from the area of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, where Israeli forces carried out new raids this week.
The five people had been listed among 120 hostages still in Gaza, about one-third of whom Israel has declared dead in absentia, based on forensic findings, intelligence, interrogations of captured militants, videos, and the testimony of released hostages.
In a speech to the U.S. Congress on July 24, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his government is actively engaged in intensive efforts to release the remaining hostages and that he is confident that those efforts will succeed.
An Israeli delegation will participate in talks to secure a Gaza cease-fire and hostage release—mediated by the United States, Egypt, and Qatar—next week, an Israeli official said on July 24.
Hamas wants a cease-fire agreement to end the war in Gaza, but Mr. Netanyahu has said the war cannot end before Hamas is defeated.
