Israeli man who was murdered alongside his wife on October 7th finally handed over more than two years after his body was taken into captivity, as families of last two hostages wait for their return.
By World Israel News Staff
Israeli forensics experts working overnight have positively identified the remains handed over by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists Tuesday night, confirming that the body belongs to one of the three remaining hostages.
On Wednesday morning, the Prime Minister’s Office announced that a team at the Abu Kabir National Center of Forensic Medicine – working in cooperation with the Israel Police and the IDF rabbinate – has determined that the body returned last night belongs to Dror Or, a 48-year-old man murdered on October 7th and taken into captivity.
Or’s remains were transferred to Israel via the International Committee of the Red Cross, after being recovered from the Nuseirat area of central Gaza a day earlier.
The surviving members of the Or family were notified of the positive identification, the PMO announced.
“The Government of Israel shares in the deep sorrow of the Or family and all the families of the fallen hostages,” the office said.
A certified yoga instructor and a cheesemaker, Or lived in Kibbutz Be’eri with his wife, Yonat and their three children, Yahli, Noam, and Alma.
After Kibbutz Be’eri was overrun on October 7th, terrorists broke into the Or home, murdering Dror and Yonat, while their two younger children managed to escape through a window. Yahli was not present in Be’eri at the time of the invasion.
Both Noam and Alma were eventually taken captive and held in Gaza, and were later released in a hostage deal.
While Yonat’s remains were recovered after the invasion, Dror was declared missing, with his status listed as unknown until May 2024, when Israeli intelligence determined he had been murdered on October 7th, 2023.
Following the return of Or’s body, two hostages remain in the Gaza Strip, Ran Gvili, a special forces officer, and Sudthisak Rinthalak, a Thai agricultural worker.
The post Body returned from Gaza positively identified as Israeli hostage Dror Or appeared first on World Israel News.