THE Israeli army announced today that it has recovered from the Gaza Strip and repatriated to Israel the body of French-Israeli Elias Tolentano, who was abducted by Hamas during its October 7 attack.
The Tolentano was abducted on the morning of October 7th from where the Tribe of Nova music festival was being heldin which he was with his girlfriend Mia Shem, also a French-Israeli who was released as part of a prisoner swap between Israel and Hamas during the seven-day truce in the war between them.
“During an operation in Gaza, the body of the hostage Elias Tolentanos (28 years old) was located by the army’s special forces and repatriated to Israel”the Israeli military said in a statement, clarifying that medical examiners have already identified the body.
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 a 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: News Beast
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