Elia Tolentano, 28, was kidnapped by Hamas on October 7 from the music festival, along with his girlfriend – Mia was released during the seven-day ceasefire
The Israeli army announced today that it recovered in the Gaza Strip and repatriated to Israel the body of French-Israeli Elias Tolentano (Elia Toledano)who was kidnapped by Hamas during its attack on October 7.
Tolentano was kidnapped on the morning of October 7 from the place where the Tribe of Nova music festivalin which he was with his girlfriend Mia Sem, also French-Israeli.
Mia was released as part of a prisoner swap between Israel and Hamas during the seven-day ceasefire in the war between them.
“During an operation in Gaza, the body of the hostage Elias Toledanos (28 years old) was located by the army’s special forces and repatriated to Israel,” the Israeli army said in a statement, clarifying that forensic experts have already identified the body.
No further information has been released on how he died or where the 28-year-old’s body was found.
The body of 28-year-old Elia Toledano who was taken hostage by Hamas terrorists on October 7, has been recovered by our Special Forces in an operation in Gaza and brought back to Israel.
The IDF sends the family its heartfelt condolences.
Our national mission is to locate the…
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) December 15, 2023
Families of the hostages have indicated in recent weeks that they do not know what has become of Toledano, that is, whether he is still alive or not.
“The Israeli army extends its sincere condolences to his family,” added the statement, which clarified that the young man’s family had been informed of the discovery of his body before it was publicly announced.
Hamas launched a bloody attack on Israel on October 7, during which around 1,200 people were killed. At the same time, the Palestinian organization kidnapped about 240 people and took them to Gaza. Of these, around 135 are still being held by Hamas and other armed Palestinian organizations. During the seven-day truce, 105 hostages were released.
The families of the hostages said this week they were “shocked” by the statement by the head of Israel’s foreign intelligence agency, the Mossad, about the authorities’ refusal to hold new negotiations for the release of the remaining hostages and demanded an explanation.
For her part, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna expressed her “tremendous pain” over Tolentano’s death.
“We share the pain of his family and relatives. The release of all hostages is our priority,” he wrote to X.
Source :Skai
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