‘Much-Needed Closure’: IDF Recovers Two Hostages’ Bodies in Gaza Operation

Latest Developments

Recovered Hostage Bodies: The IDF announced on June 11 that it had recovered the bodies of two Israeli hostages: Yair Yaakov, who was 59 at the time of his murder, and an additional hostage whose name has not yet been released by the IDF. Yaakov was killed and his remains abducted to Gaza by Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists during the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, atrocities while shielding his family as they hid in their Kibbutz Nir Oz home.
Family Released in Previous Ceasefire: Yaakov’s partner, Meirav Tal, and two of his children, Yagil and Or, were also kidnapped before being released during the November 2023 ceasefire. “I’m sad to say this — I’m already waiting for your funeral. I knew this day would come,” Yagil said in a post on Instagram. The Yaakov family thanked the IDF, adding that the return of their father’s body provided “much-needed closure, so that we can begin to look forward.”
String of Recent Recoveries: The latest hostage recovery mission was carried out as part of a series of recent operations during which the IDF returned the remains of five deceased hostages to Israel. On June 5, the IDF announced that it had returned the bodies of two Israeli Americans, Judi Weinstein Haggai and Gad Haggai, before recovering the body of Thai national Nattapong Pinta, who was kidnapped by the Hamas-aligned Palestinian Mujahideen Movement, on June 7. Following recent IDF recovery efforts, 53 hostages remain in Hamas captivity.

FDD Expert Response

“Hamas’s barbaric tactic of taking hostages, living and dead, young and old, reinforces why the terrorist group must be eliminated. The recovery of the bodies of two more hostages from Gaza demonstrates that Israel is still making progress in the war. The fighting could end tomorrow if Hamas released the hostages and surrendered. Those calling for an immediate ceasefire are supporting Hamas’s public relations strategy and working against the return of Israel’s hostages.” — David May, Research Manager and Senior Research Analyst

“Nir Oz was among the Israeli communities most devastated on October 7. The recent recovery of the bodies of Yair Yaakov, as well as Judy Haggai and her husband, all residents of Nir Oz, and Nattapong Pinta, who worked for the kibbutz, suggests that Israeli forces acted on specific intelligence to locate them. Every hostage brought back to Israel narrows the number of bargaining chips available to Hamas in any potential ceasefire deal.” — Joe Truzman, Senior Research Analyst and Editor at FDD’s Long War Journal