Israeli military finds body of Israeli hostage in Gaza Strip
According to the IDF, the man was kidnapped "from the area of the party in Re'im" on October 7
TEL AVIV, December 1. /TASS/. The Israeli military has found the body of one of the Israeli nationals who were taken hostage by Hamas on October 7, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said.
"The body of the hostage Ofir Tzarfati z"l was recently located by combined IDF and ISA (Israel Security Agency - TASS) forces in the Gaza Strip, and was brought to Israel," it said.
According to the IDF, the man was kidnapped "from the area of the party in Re'im" on October 7. "Following the identification of Ofir Tzarfati z"l on Wednesday (November 29th) by medical officials, military rabbis, the Institute of Forensic Medicine, and the Israel Police, IDF and police representatives informed the family of Ofir Tzarfati z"l of his death," the IDF added.
Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 after militants from the Gaza Strip-based radical Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise incursion on Israeli territory, killing many Israeli kibbutz residents living near the Gaza border and abducting more than 200 Israelis, including women, children and the elderly. Hamas described its attack as a response to Israeli authorities’ aggressive actions against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and launched bombardments of the enclave and some areas in Lebanon and Syria, as well as a ground operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Clashes are also reported in the West Bank.