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Israel identified two of the four deceased hostages whose coffins it received from Hamas via the Red Cross on Monday and gave their causes of death.
“IDF representatives informed the families of Guy Iluz, Bipin Joshi, and two additional deceased hostages, whose names have not yet been cleared for publication by their families, that their loved ones have been brought back for burial,” the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Tuesday.
The IDF said its intelligence indicates that Iluz was kidnapped alive and injured by Hamas after escaping the Nova music festival. He later succumbed to his wounds due to not receiving proper medical treatment, the IDF said. Iluz was 26 at the time of his death.
Joshi, according to the IDF, was kidnapped from Kibbutz Alumim, where he was hiding in a bomb shelter. The IDF said that an assessment revealed Joshi was murdered in captivity during the first months of the war. He was 23 years old.
The IDF said final conclusions would be determined after the National Center of Forensic Medicine completed its examination. The identities of the other two deceased hostages have yet to be released.
“The families of the hostages and the returned embrace the families of Guy Illouz and Bipin Joshi, along with two additional families whose loved ones were recently returned for proper burial,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a statement.
“Alongside the grief and the understanding that their hearts will never be whole, the return of Guy and Bipin, may their memories be a blessing, together with two additional deceased hostages, brings some measure of comfort to families who have lived with agonizing uncertainty and doubt for over two years. We will not rest until all 24 hostages are brought home,” the forum added.
On Monday, the final 20 living hostages were released after more than two years in captivity. In addition to the living hostages, Hamas was supposed to hand over the remains of 28 deceased hostages by Monday, though the terror group said it would have trouble locating all the bodies, The Times of Israel reported.
The IDF said that it “continues to make every effort to return all the hostages, as Hamas is required to fulfill its part of the agreement and make the necessary efforts to return all the hostages to their families for proper burial.”
The bodies of 24 slain hostages — which could include U.S. citizens Itay Chen and Omer Neutera — are still in Gaza.
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