Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said on Wednesday that the military and security forces had recovered the remains of two Israeli hostages held in Gaza since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack that ignited the war.
“The bodies of two of our hostages were returned to Israel,” Mr. Netanyahu said in a statement, adding that only one of their names, Yair Yaakov, had been cleared for publication.
Mr. Netanyahu said Mr. Yaakov had been “murdered and abducted” by the militant group Islamic Jihad in the 2023 attack. “Together with all citizens of Israel, my wife and I extend our heartfelt condolences to the families who lost their dearest loved ones,” he added.
The Israeli military said in a statement on Wednesday about the other hostage: “His family has been notified and his name will be cleared for release later.”
Mr. Yaakov had been a member of Kibbutz Nir Oz, a farming community near the border with Gaza that was hit hard by the assault. He was 59 when he was killed, according to a statement from the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which represents the relatives of some captives.
He was taken from his home along with his children, Or and Yagil, and his partner, Meirav, according to the forum, and his death was confirmed in February 2024. The other family members were released as part of a temporary cease-fire deal in November 2023.
“Yair was a devoted family man with a huge heart, always ready to help others,” the forum said in its statement on behalf of Mr. Yaakov’s children.
On Saturday, Israeli security forces said they had recovered the body of a Thai citizen, Nattapong Pinta, who was in his 30s and a farmworker at Kibbutz Nir Oz when he was abducted to Gaza in the 2023 attack.
Last week, the Israeli authorities said they had recovered from Gaza the remains of two Israeli-American members of Kibbutz Nir Oz: Judi Weinstein Haggai, 70, who was also a Canadian citizen; and her husband, Gadi Haggai, 72.
The latest operation brings to 53 the number of living and dead captives believed to be held in Gaza. The Israeli government has said that up to 23 hostages are believed to be alive.
The hostage announcement on Wednesday came as the Israeli military was conducting intense operations in Gaza, in what it said was an effort to remove Hamas from power. It also came as Israel was facing growing international pressure over its conduct of the war. In March, Israel imposed a roughly 80-day blockade on humanitarian aid entering the enclave, as the initial phase of a two-month cease-fire with Hamas ended.
Both sides were supposed to be negotiating the next steps in the truce. Israeli officials argued that the restrictions aimed to pressure Hamas to compromise. Aid organizations suspended their operations as food stockpiles dwindled, the price of food skyrocketed, and humanitarian groups warned of mass privation and hunger.
In late May, a widely criticized aid distribution system backed by Israel and run mostly by American contractors began operating in the enclave. Its efforts have been marred by chaos at aid sites and deadly violence nearby.
According to the health authorities in Gaza, who do not distinguish between civilians and combatants, more than 55,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war since the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks.
Nir Oz has become a symbol of the scale of the 2023 attack, which saw about one in four of the village’s approximately 400 residents either killed or abducted. In total, about 250 people, including foreign nationals, were taken hostage that day and about 1,200 people killed, according to the Israeli authorities.
