Israeli army retrieves bodies of two hostages, two soldiers killed during the operation

The Israeli army successfully retrieved the bodies of civilian Eden Zacharia and IDF Warrant Officer Ziv Dado, who were taken hostage by Hamas on October 7 in the Gaza Strip, the IDF stated on Tuesday.

It is unknown if 27-year-old Zacharia was taken alive or was already killed during the assault on the Nova rave party in Kibbutz Re’im.

Dado, 36 years old, was killed in battle while serving as a logistics supervisor in the Golani Brigade’s 51st Battalion.

During the operation to recover their bodies from deep inside the Gaza Strip, Mst.-Sgt. (res.) Gal Meir Eisenkot, son of War Cabinet Minister Gadi Eisenkot, and Mst.-Sgt. (res.) Eyal Berkowitz were killed and several other soldiers were wounded.

The operation was conducted by the Military Intelligence Unit 504, and soldiers of the IDF's 551st Brigade in a tunnel near the home of Ahmed Ghandour, a former Hamas brigade commander who was recently killed in an Israeli airstrike.