Four bodies of Israeli hostages were returned to Israel last night

The bodies of four fallen Israeli hostages were transferred to Abu Kabir Forensic Institute for identification, accompanied by Israel Defense Forces and the Israel Police. The families of hostages Itzik Elgarat, Shlomo Mansour and Tsachi Idan were informed that their loved ones were on the list. The name of another fallen hostage has not yet been cleared for publication.

The four coffins of the fallen hostages were brought into Israeli territory last night (Thursday) as part of the final phase of stage 1 in the deal with Hamas. Special forces from the police and the IDF escorted the coffins until they arrived at Abu Kabir.

A few hours later, the identification process for Itzik Elgarat was completed. "He was murdered in captivity in Gaza," stated an official from Kibbutz Nir Oz, the location from which he was abducted.

In an earlier statement from the Prime Minister’s Office, it was announced that Israel had received the coffins of four fallen hostages via the Red Cross. The coffins were transferred through Egyptian mediation to IDF troops at the Kerem Shalom crossing, where an initial identification process was conducted on Israeli soil.

The hostages' families were continuously updated on the situation, and a formal notification is set to be given upon the completion of the full identification process. Citizens, including friends of the hostages, waited at intersections and along the transport routes, carrying flags to pay their respects to the fallen who were returned to Israel.

On Wednesday night, it was reported that the families of the fallen hostages, Itzik Elgarat, Tsachi Idan and Shlomo Mansour, confirmed that they had received notification that their loved ones were among the four fallen hostages. The name of the fourth fallen hostage will be released once the family grants permission.

The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated on Wednesday that the four were returned under an agreed-upon procedure, without any degrading ceremonies by the Hamas terrorist organization and that this was, indeed, the case. According to the Palestinian Prisoners Ministry, approximately 590 prisoners from Gaza were released from Israeli jails overnight as part of the exchange deal.

Tsachi Idan

Fifty years old, from Kibbutz Nahal Oz. The last sign of life was received in December 2023.

On the morning of Oct. 7, 2023, Idan was in the safe room with his wife, Gali, and their three children—Maayan, Yael, and Shachar. Terrorists managed to break into their home, murdered their eldest daughter Maayan, and engaged in a gunfight from inside the house.

The terrorists filmed their time inside the Idan family's home, and the footage, which was widely circulated, provided an initial testimony to the horrors committed inside residents' homes that Saturday. The video showed the family crying and terrified while the terrorists held them hostage and fired outside from within the house. Idan was covered in the blood of his daughter, who was murdered before the family's eyes.

Idan's cousin, Guy Idan, fell in battle in Lebanon on Oct. 24, 2024.

Itzik Elgarat

Sixty-nine years old, from Kibbutz Nir Oz. Elgarat was wounded by terrorist gunfire while in the safe room of his home and called his brother, Danny, to ask for help. Danny tried to guide Elgarat on how to stop the bleeding, but the call was interrupted by the shouts of terrorists, and Elgarat was abducted to Gaza.

Only a month and a half after his abduction did the family receive confirmation that Elgarat was still alive but injured. Family members learned from one of the hostages released in the November 2023 deal that he had been shot in the hand and received medical treatment while in captivity.

Throughout his captivity, Danny frequently provided interviews and actively campaigned for his return.

Shlomo Mansour

Eighty-six years old, from Kibbutz Kissufim. Mansour, the oldest of the abductees, was kidnapped from the safe room in his home and taken away by the terrorists while bound, in front of his wife, Mazal, who managed to escape. In his childhood, Mansour survived the Farhud pogroms in Iraq.

Mazal hid in the bathroom when the alarms sounded while Mansour went to the safe room. The terrorists captured him and slapped him. With the presence of mind and composure, Mazal asked them, “Why? He is an elderly man; he did nothing.”

Earlier this month, his family was informed that he had been murdered on the same day, Oct. 7. The decision to declare his death was based on intelligence gathered over the past few months and was confirmed by a panel of experts from the Ministry of Health, in coordination with the Ministry of Religious Affairs and the Israel Police, according to the Israeli military.