The IDF and Shin Bet said Friday that the bodies of hostages Orion Hernandez, Michel Nisenbaum and Hanan Yablonka were recovered and returned to their families in Israel after a joint operation in a tunnel inside Jabaliya, northern Israel. of Gaza. The current number of hostages still held by Hamas is 125.
“Initial investigations suggest that the hostages were killed during the terrorist attack on October 7 and were then abducted by Hamas near Mefalsim,” the IDF said in a statement. According to the report, the rescue operation took place “on the basis of precise information”.
Orion Hernandez, 30, a Mexican-French citizen and partner of Shani Louk was at the Nova Music Festival before he was kidnapped, as was Hanan Yablonka, 42, a father of two from Tel Aviv. Michel Nisenbaum, 59, from Sderot, traveled to southern Israel to rescue his 4-year-old granddaughter, who was spending the weekend at the Re’im base with her father, a soldier. The three ran into Hamas terrorists who were hiding between Kibbutz Mefalsim and the Black Arrow Memorial, where the men were taken hostage.
Their bodies were found in the same area where the bodies of Ron Benjamin, itzhak Galanter, Shani Louk and Amit Buskila were also discovered, although, the IDF revealed, they were not all in the same tunnel.
Orion was a well-known music producer. The boy had worked for numerous music festivals around the world. His mother said during an interview that Orion was an adventurous young man who loved nature and hiking, a sociable and generous person who loved traveling around the world. He was a devoted father to his two-year-old daughter, Ayana. During one of his trips to Europe, he met Shani Louk and the two fell in love. Shani and Orion worked together with other Argentine friends to organize a music festival in Greece that ended in September, and then they decided to take a vacation together, arriving in Israel on October 1.
The IDF reported that the bodies were identified at the National Center for Forensic Medicine (Abu Kabir) and that the families were informed of the operation. “According to certain information acquired, the hostages were killed during the brutal terrorist attack on October 7 and abducted from the Mefalsim area of Gaza by Hamas terrorists. The bodies were recovered in an operation by the IDF and the Shin Bet on the basis of precise information received and analyzed in recent days at the Directorate of Military Intelligence, the IDF Southern Command and in collaboration with the Shin Bet” continues the official statement.
The Hostages Forum published a statement shortly after the news of the discovery which read: “The tragic return of Michel, Hanan and Orion marks another heartbreak for the families of the 125 hostages, who share endless pain, sadness and worry since October 7. Their return home for burial provides important closure for their families.”
“My wife Sara and I, together with the entire Israeli population, express our deep sorrow for the discovery of the bodies and embrace the grieving families in this difficult moment. We have a national and moral obligation to do everything in our power to bring back our hostages – the living and the dead – and that is what we are doing. I commend the IDF and security forces who acted courageously deep into enemy territory to return the bodies to their families, to allow them a dignified burial in Israel.” President Isaac Herzog added: “Our broken hearts go out to the Yablonka, Hernandez and Nisenbaum families this morning as we receive the bitter news of the recovery of their loved ones’ bodies from Gaza. I send my full support to the men and women of the IDF and Shin Bet, who are working tirelessly. It is our duty to bring everyone home. May the memory of Hanan, Orion and Michel be blessed.”
