Tel Aviv [Israel], November 14 : The body of slain Israeli hostage Meny Godard was returned to Israel by Hamas on Thursday night, officials confirmed, after forensic experts completed their identification of the remains handed over by the terror group, and military representatives notified Godard's family.
The Israeli Defence Forces further called on Hamas to fulfil its part of the deal, as it still kept three slain hostages, as per The Times of Israel.
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Godard, 73, was murdered by Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists in Kibbutz Be'eri on October 7, 2023, alongside his wife Ayelet, 63, and his body was abducted to Gaza by the Hamas-allied terror group. The couple is survived by their children, Mor, Gal, Bar, and Goni, a number of grandchildren and several siblings, as per The Times of Israel.
Godard's body was transferred by the Red Cross from the terror group to Israel Defence Forces troops inside the Strip, where a small ceremony, led by a military rabbi, was held, the IDF said. The casket was then escorted by the police to the Abu Kabir forensic institute in Tel Aviv for identification.
Crowds of people carrying Israeli and yellow flags lined roads to pay their respects as the convoy carrying the body passed by.
In March, troops recovered findings belonging to Godard at an Islamic Jihad post in southern Gaza's Rafah. The findings found at the post were taken to Israel and identified as belonging to Godard, but his body remained held in Gaza, as per The Times of Israel.
Hamas, in a joint statement with Palestinian Islamic Jihad, said that the body had been located in the Khan Younis area of southern Gaza on Thursday. Footage aired by Al Jazeera earlier in the day showed heavy equipment digging through rubble in Khan Younis, before masked gunmen dug up white plastic sheeting apparently containing the body.
The bodies of three slain hostages now remain held in the Strip two Israelis and one Thai national: Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, Dror Or and Sudthisak Rinthalak, as per The Times of Israel.
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