Dim Amor

The IDF announced today that following completion of the identification process by the National Center for Forensic Medicine, in cooperation with the Israel Police and the Military Rabbinate, the bodies of four hostages have been returned for burial: Guy Ilouz of blessed memory, Bipin Joshi of blessed memory, and two additional deceased hostages whose names have not yet been authorized for publication by their families. The IDF's announcement reveals the harsh circumstances under which the hostages perished in the captivity of the Hamas terror organization, while pointing to the organization's failure to meet its commitments under the hostage return agreement.

Guy Ilouz, 26 years old at the time of his death, was wounded and abducted alive after fleeing from the Nova festival to the Tel Gama area on the day of the massacre, according to IDF information and intelligence. Ilouz died from his wounds after not receiving appropriate medical treatment in Hamas captivity. Final conclusions regarding the circumstances of his death will be formulated only after completion of the examination of the circumstances of death at the National Center for Forensic Medicine. Ilouz's case joins a long line of reports about the harsh captivity conditions and medical neglect suffered by the hostages at the hands of Hamas.

The second case disclosed is that of Bipin Joshi, a Nepali citizen, who was abducted at age 23 from a shelter in Kibbutz Alumim. Joshi, who came to Israel as a foreign worker, met his death under tragic circumstances. Security officials estimate that he was murdered in captivity during the first months of the war. In this case as well, final conclusions will be formulated after completion of the examination at the Institute of Forensic Medicine. Joshi's death underscores the heavy price paid by foreign workers as well, who found themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time and received the same cruel treatment from Hamas as Israeli citizens.

The two additional hostages, whose names have not yet been published at the families' request, join the difficult list of deceased whose bodies were held by Hamas for long months. Honoring the families' wishes not to publish the details reflects the great sensitivity the IDF exercises in dealing with bereaved families and the understanding that each family has its own pace in coping with loss.

In its official statement, the IDF spokesperson emphasized that the IDF and the State of Israel's system for prisoners and missing persons shares in the families' grief, continues to invest all efforts in returning all the hostages, and is preparing for continued implementation of the agreement. However, the statement also included a clear demand that Hamas fulfill its part of the agreement and make the necessary efforts to return all hostages to their families and to proper burial.

Yet despite the agreement reached, Hamas is not keeping its promises in full. Not all the deceased have yet returned to Israel, and families wait in anxiety and pain for the return of their loved ones. This situation raises difficult questions about the organization's ability or willingness to meet its commitments, leaving additional families in a state of unbearable uncertainty.

The return for burial of the four hostages symbolizes another chapter in the ongoing tragedy of the hostages' families, which began on October 7th and continues to this day. Every hostage returned, alive or for eternal rest, reminds us of the heavy human cost of terror and the moral duty to continue working for the return of them all.

Graphics: MAAKAV