The Israeli army announced on Thursday that it had identified the remains of hostages, Inbar Hayman and Mohammad al-Atrash, whose bodies had been returned to Israel the previous evening by Hamas.
"Following the completion of the identification process by the National Institute of Forensic Medicine... (Israeli military) representatives informed the families of Inbar Hayman and Sergeant Major Mohammad al-Atrash that their bodies had been returned for burial," an army statement said.
Inbar Hayman, a graffiti artist from Haifa known by the pseudonym "Pink", was 27 when she was killed at the Nova music festival. Her remains were taken to Gaza. The remains of Sergeant Major Mohammad al-Atrash, a 39-year-old soldier of Bedouin origin who was killed in combat on October 7, were also taken to the Palestinian territory.
Defence Minister Israel Katz extended his condolences to the families "on behalf of the entire defence establishment" in a post on X.
"Inbar was abducted from the Nova festival and assassinated by Hamas murderers on October 7, and Mohammad fell in battle after defending the division's soldiers with supreme heroism," he added.
The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the government "shares in the deep sorrow" of the two families and all the families of the fallen hostages.
"The Hamas terrorist organisation is required to uphold its commitments to the mediators and return (the hostages) as part of the implementation of the agreement. We will not compromise on this," the statement added.
Katz threatened late on Wednesday to resume fighting if Hamas did not honour the terms of a US-backed ceasefire that halted the war in Gaza.
It came after Hamas said it had returned all the bodies it could access, and that it would need special recovery equipment to reach the rest of the bodies promised under the agreement.
with AFP
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