The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced on Friday that it retrieved the bodies of three Israeli hostages who were killed during the October 7 Hamas-led terror attacks. The IDF identified the three individuals as Itzhak Gelerenter, Amit Buskila and Shani Louk, whose bodies were kidnapped by Hamas after being confirmed dead on October 30.

The IDF stated:

Based on verified intelligence in our possession, Yitzhak Gelernter, Shani Louk, and Amit Buskila were murdered during the October 7 Massacre at the Mefalsim Intersection, and their bodies were abducted to Gaza. The bodies of the hostages were rescued during a joint IDF and ISA operation, based on precise ISA intelligence obtained during the interrogations of terrorists who were apprehended in the Gaza strip, as well as intelligence from IDF Intelligence Directorate’s Headquarters for the Hostages and Missing Persons.

Itzhak Gelerenter, Amit Buskila and Shani Louk were attending a music festival on October 7 when the Hamas terror attack took place. Hamas took over 200 people hostage and killed more than 1,200 people.

In February, Israel confirmed that one-fifth of the hostages were dead. Hamas is designated as a terrorist group by various countries including the UK and the US, and the group has breached international law and committed war crimes during the course of the Israel-Hamas conflict. Some countries, including Germany, have defended Israel’s right to self-defense in response to the Hamas terror attacks.

Earlier this month, Standing Together, a Jewish-Palestinian peace movement, marched in Tel-Aviv for a ceasefire, a hostage deal, and an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal.

The IDF says it will continue its efforts to rescue Israeli hostages, stating that “[t]he IDF and ISA continue, even at this time, to deploy all operational and intelligence means and to take operational risks in order to accomplish the supreme national task of bringing back all the hostages.”