IDF confirms: Body of hostage Ron Binyamin recovered from Gaza

The body of Ron Binyamin, 52, was recovered from Gaza by the IDF after being held there since his murder by Hamas on October 7, the IDF confirmed on Saturday, one day after the military announced the recovery of three other Israeli hostages’ bodies.

IDF spokesperson, R.-Adm. Daniel Hagari announced that Binyamin’s body was recovered at the same time as the three other hostages’ bodies rescued on Friday, but the process of identification and notification of the family took longer.

“Based on verified intelligence in our possession, Ron Benjamin was murdered during the October 7 Massacre at the Mefalsim Intersection, and his body was seized and brought to Gaza by Hamas terrorists,” Hagari said.The operation was “based on precise Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) intelligence obtained during the interrogations of terrorists who were apprehended in the Gaza Strip, as well as intelligence from the IDF Intelligence Directorate,” he said.

Comments on the recovery

Shortly afterward, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum provided the following statement:“The Families Forum bows its head and mourns upon receiving the difficult news of the murder of Ron Benjamin by Hamas terrorists and the taking of his body to Gaza as a hostage.”

“Returning his body to Israel is a sacred mission that allows his family to grant him eternal rest in the land of Israel.”The Families Forum added that “128 hostages have been waiting to be released and returned to Israel for 225 long days and nights already.

The Israeli government must focus on the only mission that matters – to dispatch negotiation teams this very evening and fight for their return home. Those alive should be returned for rehabilitation, and those murdered should be brought back for a dignified burial, as was made possible for Ron Benjamin this evening.”

"Ron Benjamin (53), married to Ayelet and father to Shay and Gil, was a family man who loved cycling," the forum said. He used to go out for a ride every Saturday, just as he did on that fateful Saturday when he was taken hostage from the Kibbutz Be’eri area while on a cycling trip.

Ron loved traveling in Israel and around the world, and he loved music.”Earlier on Friday, the IDF had announced its recovery of the bodies of three of the remaining 132 hostages in Gaza – Shani Louk, 23, Amit Buskila, 28, and Itzik Gelenter, 57.

All three had been at the Nova music festival and were killed on October 7, during Hamas’s invasion of southern Israel, and their bodies were taken into Gaza.

The IDF said that the bodies were uncovered during a joint operation with the Shin Bet based on “intelligence obtained during the interrogations of terrorists who were apprehended in the Gaza Strip, as well as intelligence from IDF Intelligence Directorate’s Headquarters for the Hostages and Missing Person.”

The IDF also announced the deaths of two Thai agricultural workers killed by Hamas on October 7 and that their bodies were still in Gaza.

The discovery of the bodies comes as efforts to secure a hostage deal for the release of all the captives have been frozen for weeks.

Hamas and Israel remain at odds over the question of a permanent ceasefire. The terror group has demanded that the IDF end the war and withdraw from Gaza, while Israel has insisted that the war can only end once Hamas is defeated.

Yonah Jeremy Bob contributed to this report.