Israeli army recovers bodies of 3 more hostages from Gaza

The bodies of three more hostages killed on Oct 7. were recovered overnight from Gaza, Israel's army said Friday, as the top United Nations ordered Israel to immediately halt its military operations in the enclave's city of Rafah.

The bodies of Hanan Yablonka, Michel Nisenbaum, and Orion Hernandez Radoux were found and their families have been notified, according to the military. The army said they were killed on the day of the attack at the Mefalsim intersection and their bodies were taken to Gaza.

The announcement comes less than a week after the army said it found the bodies of three other Israeli hostages killed on Oct. 7.

Hamas-led militants abducted about250 peopleon that day. Around half of those hostages have since been freed, most in swaps for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel during a weeklong ceasefire in November.

Israel says around 100 hostages are still captive in Gaza, along with the bodies of around 30 more.

On Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commended the military's efforts to retrieve the remains.

"We have a national and moral obligation to do our utmost to return our hostages the living and the deceasedand this is what we are doing," read astatement.

French, Brazilian leaders mourn dual citizens

The army said on Friday the hostages were found during an operation in Jabaliya. Military spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said in a news conference that the army was able to retrieve the bodies based on "critical intelligence" uncovered last week by Israeli forces operating in Gaza.

The group representing the families of the hostages said the bodies had been returned to their families for burial.

WATCH | Demonstrators in Tel Aviv demand more help for hostages:

Israeli protesters call on government to reach hostage deal as families release video

4 months ago

Duration 0:49

Demonstrators in Tel Aviv, including the families of Israelis held hostage by Hamas, called on the government to do more to secure a deal with the militant group to release the hostages. Wednesday's protest followed the release of new video showing the capture of five female army conscripts by Hamas on Oct. 7.

His family in December told The Associated Pressthat he loved music. Yablonka's family had no news of him for nearly two months after he'd been taken, not knowing if he was alive or dead.

Nisenbaum, 59, was a Brazilian-Israeli from the southern city of Sderot. He was taken hostage when he went to rescue his four-year-old granddaughter.

Orion Hernandez Radoux, 30, was a French-Mexican citizen also taken from the music festival, which he attended with his partner, Shani Louk. Louk's body was one of those found by the army nearly a week ago.

In a posts on X Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron expressed condolences to the family of Hernandez Radoux, while Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva did so for Nisenbaum.

On the hostages, anger is growing in Israelat the government's handling of the crisis.

Earlier this week, a group representing the families of hostages released new video footage showing Hamas's capture of five female Israeli soldiers near the Gaza border on Oct. 7.

The video shows several of the young soldiers bloody and wounded. In one scene, a militant tells one of the terrified women she is beautiful.

The video sparked more protests across the country calling for the hostages' release.

WATCH l Freed hostage says days in captivity 'changed everything':

Hamas captivity a psychological war, says former hostage

4 months ago

Duration 9:26

Luis Har and his family were taken hostage by Hamas on Oct. 7. He was rescued by the Israel Defence Forces more than four months later. Har says his 129 days as a hostage changed everything ... [we are] different people, and that he hopes to live in peace one day.

The attacks led by Hamas, considered a terrorist group by several Western nations including Canada, killed around 1,200 people. Several of the dead were Canadian citizens.

Israel's offensive since the war began has killed more than 35,800 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, and has caused a humanitarian crisis and a near-famine.

ICJ rules against Israel's offensive

Israel has signalled it would ignore a ruling by the International Court of Justice to stop its military campaign in Rafah.

The ICJ announcement at The Hague, based on a request by South Africa, also ordered Israel to keep the Rafah crossing into Egypt open "for unhindered provision at scale of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance."

South Africa late last year accused Israel through the ICJ court of committing genocide during its Gaza campaign. Israel has vehemently denied the allegations, and a ruling on the genocide question is not expected any time soon.

Friday's ruling comes just days after the chief prosecutor of another court in The Hague, the International Criminal Court, announced he is seeking arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Israel's defence minister and three Hamas leaders.