Update: Bodies of 2 Israeli hostages recovered from Gaza: officials

JERUSALEM, June 11 (Xinhua) -- Israeli forces recovered the bodies of hostage Yair Yaakov and another person, whose identity was not disclosed, from Gaza and returned them to Israel, Israeli officials said on Wednesday.

The Israeli military said in a statement that the two bodies were recovered in a joint operation with the Shin Bet internal intelligence agency from the Khan Younis area in the southern Gaza Strip.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that Israel "will not rest until we bring all our hostages home -- both the living and the dead."

In a statement, he said that Yair Yaakov, 59, was killed by Palestinian Islamic Jihad militants on the morning of Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led fighters stormed Kibbutz Nir Oz in southern Israel.

His body was taken to Gaza. His sons, Or and Yagil, and his spouse, Meirav Tal, were released in the first hostage exchange deal between Israel and Hamas in November 2023.

Writing on Instagram, Yagil Yaakov, son of Yair Yaakov, thanked Israeli security forces for retrieving his father's body and stressed that he hopes the rest of the hostages can be brought back "in a deal."

The body of another hostage has been recovered, the military said, adding that his family has been notified and his name will be cleared for release later.

Hamas abducted 251 people during its Oct. 7, 2023 attack. Dozens were later freed in swap deals. According to Israeli figures, 54 hostages remain in Gaza, with at least 20 believed to be alive.

Despite mediation efforts to broker a new ceasefire agreement, no breakthrough has been achieved. The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has surpassed 55,000, according to health authorities in Gaza. ■