Israel restored the bodies of three more hostages from Hamas after the attack of the terror group on Israel in October 2023.
The remains of the three hostages were found by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) during a special operation on Saturday and have been identified as Ofra Keidar, Yonatan Samerano and Shay Levinson, according to the Highnesses and Missing Family Forum Headquarters.
“Our hearts are today at the Keidar, Samerano and Levinson families,” said the organization. “In addition to the sadness and the pain, their return offers some comfort for the families who have waited in pain, uncertainty and doubt for 625 days.”
The group added that the return of all hostages is essential for national healing and recovery.
Israeli hostages families make a desperate plea for Trump while ‘time walks’
The Israeli defense groups also confirmed that the remains of the three hostages were found from Gaza. The bodies of Keidar, Samerano and Levinson were found during a special operation performed by the IDF and the Israel Security Agency (Isa) on Saturday.
The IDF has received “precise intelligence from the ISA, the Gostage Task Force and the IDF Intelligence Directorate” credited and said that “the participation of the families extends and will continue to make every effort to bring all hostages home.”
The IDF restored the bodies of three hostages – from left to right, Shay Levinson, Yonatan Samerano and OFRA Keidar – from Gaza in a special operation on Saturday 21 June 2025. (Getty Images; hostages and the head office of Forum Missing Families))
Keidar, a resident of Kibbutz Be’eri, was kidnapped on October 7, 2023 by Hamas terrorists “while she took her usual morning walk through the fields she held,” according to the Ghostage Families Forum.
She worked at a dairy farm for 30 years, provided newborn calves and “was a dedicated employee with exceptional physical strength,” the organization said.
“Later she moved to the local children’s farm, where she worked for 15 years, and even after reaching the retirement age, she never delayed.”
The body of Ofra Keidar was found by Israeli troops. She was 71 at the time of her death. (Hostages and the headquarters of the Forum Missing Families))
“Everyone who visited her house could see her greatest love, apart from her family – her dogs, especially poodles, and takes care of her garden and house plants,” the forum added.
The IDF noted that Keidar, who was 71 at the time of her death, was “a mother of three and the wife of Shmuel Keidar, who was also murdered by Hamas terrorists in their house in Be’eri.”
Hamas agrees to return bodies of 4 Israeli hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners
Samerano, who was 21 at the time of his death, “was brutally murdered and abducted from Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7, 2023, by Hamas terrorists, including an UNRWA employee, after the flight of the Nova Music Festival,” said the IDF.
The body of Yonatan Samerano was found by Israeli troops. He was 21 when he died. (Hostages and the headquarters of the Forum Missing Families))
Yonatan, or “Yonati” as his friends and family called him, “was always surrounded by friends – a talented DJ who just wanted to make music, bring joy and travel,” said the Ghydenage families forum.
“Even at his young age he was an entrepreneur in heart and soul and a smart businessman who dreamed of developing his career in the production of events.”
Levinson, a staff serator and tank commander in the “OZ” (77) battalion, “involved and moisture terrorists on the morning of October 7 and fell into fights,” according to the IDF.
The body of Shay Levinson was found by Israeli troops. He was 19 at the time of his death. (Hostages and the headquarters of the Forum Missing Families))
“He was then abducted by Hamas terrorists.”
Levinson, who was 19 years old at the time of his death, is remembered as’ a calm and exceptional young man – ambitious and driven, who encouraged himself to excel in sport and every field that was interested, “said the forum of the hostage families.
Click here to get the Fox News app
“Shay, a resident of Givat Avni in the lower Galilee, was an excellent player in the MS Eilabun volleyball team-a team that serves as a model for Jewish-Arab collaboration,” the organization said.
“Shay chose to refrain from the possibility of receiving the status of an active athlete and chose a meaningful combat service in the IDF instead.”
