IDF Recovers Bodies of Two Hostages in Gaza

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) recovered the bodies of two hostages in Gaza: Eden Zacharia, 27; and IDF soldier Ziv Dado, 36, the Israeli military announced on Tuesday.

The Times of Israel reported:

Zacharia, 27, was taken hostage from the Supernova rave near Re’im, and Dado, 36, a logistics supervisor in the Golani Brigade’s 51st Battalion, was killed during the October 7 onslaught. Dado had until recently been declared a “fallen soldier held by a terror group.”

After their bodies were brought back to Israel and identified by medical and rabbinical authorities, their families were notified.

During the operation to recover the bodies, Master Sgt. (res.) Gal Meir Eisenkot — the son of war cabinet minister Gadi Eisenkot — and Master Sgt. (res.) Eyal Meir Berkowitz were killed, and other soldiers were wounded.

At a press conference Tuesday, Breitbart News asked (via Zoom) whether there would be more hostage rescue attempts.

Israeli government spokesman Eylon Levy said that “Wherever it is possible … to swoop in … we will try to do just that.” He added that Israel’s mission was to ensure that no hostage was left behind.

But he added that such missions were dangerous and that Hamas had prepared for them for a long time.

Israel’s strategy, he said, was to use “unrelenting military pressure” to force Hamas to ask for a truce to release hostages.

Israel has recovered several other hostages’ bodies since invading Gaza. As many as 20 hostages are thought to have been murdered by Hamas in captivity.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the new biography, Rhoda: ‘Comrade Kadalie, You Are Out of Order’. He is also the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.