The body of a 28-year-old festival-goer, who was kidnapped and held hostage by Hamas terrorists during the October 7 massacre, was found in the Gaza Strip Thursday – weeks after her friend Mia Schem was released in a hostage exchange.
Elia Toledano, who has dual French-Israeli citizenship, was attending the Nova music festival in the southern Israeli desert when he was taken, according to the Times of Israel.
The Israel Defense Forces said Toledano’s body was found during an operation inside Gaza and will be returned to Israel, where “identification procedures” are being carried out by medical officers, military rabbis and forensic experts.
“The IDF sends its condolences to the family,” the IDF wrote in a position on X.
Following the tragic discovery, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said the country was in “deep sorrow” at the news of Toledano’s death.
“We share the pain of his family and loved ones. The release of all hostages is our priority,” Colonna said to X.
The Israeli army has found the body of hostage Elia Toledano. Family distribution
Toledano was held hostage with Schem during the festival, the outlet added.
The two friends were last seen in the early hours of October 7 before the chaos broke out and were among the 36 people held hostage at the music festival.
Schem, a 21-year-old Israeli tattoo artist, is seen in a video released by Hamas receiving treatment from a veterinarian for a wound to his right arm shortly after the war broke out.
He was released during a seven-day ceasefire between Israel and Hamas on November 30 after spending nearly 50 days in detention.
Upon his return from confinement, he got a tattoo on his left arm that read “We’ll dance again” above “7.10.23” in memory of the festival’s victims.
“I will never forget October 7, 2023,” Schem wrote in a post last week. “Pain and fear, difficult sights, friends who will never return, and who we must bring back. But we will win, we will dance!”
Toledano was taken hostage from the Supernova music festival. @IDF / X
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At least 260 people were mercilessly killed during the Supernova festival massacre, while Hama terrorists killed at least 1,200 people during Saturday morning attacks on Israel in October.
A temporary truce between Israel and Hamas that allowed Schem’s release ended earlier this month after the Jewish state blamed the terror group for violating the truce by firing rockets into Israeli territory before the deal expired.
Along with Toledano, the Israeli army found the bodies of two soldiers who were also kidnapped by Hamas on Oct. 7.
Moshe Sebbag (center right), chief rabbi of the Grande Synagogue of Paris, greets Daniel Toledano (center left), brother of hostage Elia Toledano, as he takes part in a vigil with relatives of Israeli hostages held since the October 7 attack by Hamas. CHRISTOPHE PETIT TESSON/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Twitter video captures a performance at the Tribe of Nova music festival running from a terrorist attack during the Hamas invasion on Saturday, Oct. 7. 2023, in southern Israel.
“The bodies of hostages CPL Nik Beizer, 19, and SGT Ron Sherman, 19, who were kidnapped by Hamas on October 7, have been recovered from Gaza during operational activities and returned to Israeli territory,” the IDF wrote in a position on Friday.
The IDF remains steadfast in its commitment to rescue all hostages still trapped in Gaza.
More than 130 hostages remain there.
“Our national mission is to find the hostages and return them all home,” the army wrote on Thursday. “We are working with security agencies, and with all intelligence and operational means to return all hostages home.”
With Postal wire
Categories: Trending
Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
