JERUSALEM: Israeli special forces have recovered the body of 28-year-old hostage Elia Toledano who was held in the Gaza Strip by Hamas since its Oct. 7 rampage in southern Israel, the military said in a statement on Friday.
The military said that an “identification procedure” had been carried out by medical officials, military rabbis and forensic experts.
Toledano was taken by Hamas from an outdoor music festival that had turned into a massacre, Israeli media reported.
Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said on Friday that France is in ‘immense pain’ over Toledano’s death.
“We share the grief of his family and loved ones,” Colonna said in a post on social network X, after Israeli authorities had confirmed Toledano’s identity.
Immense peine à l'annonce par les forces armées israéliennes du décès de notre compatriote Elia Toledano, otage du Hamas et dont la dépouille a été retrouvée à Gaza.
Nous partageons la douleur de sa famille et de ses proches.La libération de tous les otages est notre priorité.
— Catherine Colonna (@MinColonna) December 15, 2023
More than 130 hostages remain in Gaza. Some have been declared dead in absentia by Israeli authorities.
