TEL AVIV, Israel — The bodies of three more hostages killed in Hamas’ October 7 attacks have been recovered from the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military said Friday. And the United Nations’ top court ordered Israel to halt its offensive in Rafah.
Hanan Yablonka, Michel Nisenbaum and Orion Hernandez were killed at the Mefalsim intersection on Oct. 7 and their bodies were flown to Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement Friday morning, citing intelligence.
Their remains were recovered in a joint night operation between the IDF and the Israel Defense Agency in the Jabaliya camp in northern Gaza, where “intense fighting” was taking place, the military said.
As the IDF battles Hamas in parts of northern and central Gaza, Israeli forces continue to expand operations into the enclave.
Israeli troops have pushed deep into the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where more than 1 million people have taken refuge during the war, forcing hundreds of thousands more to flee and deepening a humanitarian crisis there while testing the Biden administration’s red lines.
CIA Director William Burns will hold talks in Europe in the coming days with the head of Israel’s Mossad spy agency and Qatar’s prime minister in hopes of renewing talks on a deal to release the remaining prisoners, an Israeli official told NBC News.
The official said the Israeli government would study the International Court of Justice ruling before making a decision but would not accept a court order to end the war against Hamas.
South Africa last week asked the court to stop the attack on Rafah, amid international outrage accusing Israel of genocide in the war and diplomatically isolating Israel.
Both Israel and the United States have rejected the charge of genocide, and Biden did so again this week after the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor sought arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders.
The ICC – in The Hague, Netherlands – can charge people with war crimes and other related charges. It is distinct from the ICJ, which hears cases between states and has no real power to enforce its judgments.
In the months since Israel began its offensive following Hamas’ October 7 attacks, more than 35,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Palestinian enclave’s health ministry.
According to Israeli officials, 1,200 people were killed on October 7, and another 250 were taken into Gaza as hostages. About 125 people are being held captive in Gaza, a third of whom are believed to be dead.
In a video conference Friday, IDF spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Israeli forces “will not stop fighting” to see the hostages return. “Every decent country in the world would do the same,” he said.
Hernandez, 30, is the partner of Shani Luke, 23, whose body was recovered from Gaza earlier this month in an operation, said the Hostage and Missing Families Forum, which represents families of hostages in Gaza. Hernandez was a French-Mexican citizen who lived in Mexico and left behind a young daughter, the forum said.
French President Emmanuel Macron offered his condolences to Hernandez’s family in a statement on Friday X: “France is always determined to free all hostages.”
Nissenbaum was described as a 59-year-old Brazilian-Israeli citizen and father of two daughters from Sterod. He was taken hostage when he tried to rescue his 4-year-old granddaughter who was with her father in the Reim area, the forum said.
Yablonga, a 42-year-old father of two from Tel Aviv, was taken hostage after attending the Nova music festival with friends.
It was not immediately clear when Israeli authorities learned that the trio had been killed on October 7.
Hanan Yablonga’s father, Ruvan Yablonga, said Friday that he first found out about his son’s death on social media before being notified by the IDF.
He said he received more than 300 messages, and his daughter later told him that “she doesn’t want to say anything, but people are sending messages on Telegram that Hanan has been killed.”
“When the IDF called at 8:30 asking if they could come, we realized it was true,” he told Israeli broadcaster Channel 12. NBC News could not immediately reach the families of the three. .
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he and his wife were mourning the three deaths. .”
“We have a national and moral obligation to do everything we can to return the abductees,” he said.
Raf Sanchez reported from Tel Aviv and Chantal da Silva from London.
