Tel aviv: Israel has identified one of the two bodies returned by Hamas over the weekend as Ronen Tommy Engel, a father of three who was killed by the Palestinian Islamist militia while defending his family. His body was subsequently taken to Gaza.
According to Ghana News Agency, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed on its Telegram channel that Engel was killed on October 7th, 2023, during an attack by Hamas terrorists. Engel, 54, was a photographer from the kibbutz Nir Oz, near the Israeli border with Gaza. In the assault that devastated the kibbutz, Hamas abducted his wife and two daughters, who were later released in a hostage agreement in November 2023.
Engel was pronounced dead on December 1, 2023, but his body remained with Hamas until a recent agreement facilitated a ceasefire, the return of Israeli hostages, and the release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum shared the news of Engel's identification.
A second body, released alongside Engel's, has also been identified according to Israeli media reports, although the individual's name has not yet been disclosed. As part of the current ceasefire agreement, 16 of the original 28 bodies that Hamas agreed to hand over remain in Gaza.
Hamas has claimed that locating the bodies is challenging due to their burial under rubble from bombed buildings and tunnels, which were destroyed during the two-year conflict in Gaza. On Monday, the group released the last 20 living hostages.
