Israel has confirmed the identity of a body returned to the country by Hamas, with forensic testing revealing that it belonged to 73-year-old Meny Godard. Godard was among 250 hostages seized by Hamas during its attack on southern Israel in October last year, which killed 1,200 people.
According to reports, all 20 living hostages were released on October 13th as part of a deal brokered by the US. However, with no DNA testing available in Gaza, identifying the bodies of deceased hostages has proven challenging.
Israel and Hamas have been engaged in a cycle of violence since the start of the war, which began in mid-October last year. The Israeli government accused Hamas of deliberately delaying the recovery of the hostages' bodies, but the organization claimed it was struggling to find them under rubble.
The slow progress on recovering the hostages has hindered efforts to make progress on a second phase of US President Donald Trump's Gaza peace plan. This phase includes plans for governance, troop withdrawal, disarmament of Hamas, and reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.
More than 69,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's retaliatory response, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza, which has reported reliable figures. Two Israeli bodies remain in Gaza, while a third body is being identified as Thai.
The conflict has had devastating consequences for Gaza, with widespread destruction and a total breakdown of infrastructure, according to the BBC. The two-year war has left many families without homes or livelihoods, sparking fears about the future of the region.
According to reports, all 20 living hostages were released on October 13th as part of a deal brokered by the US. However, with no DNA testing available in Gaza, identifying the bodies of deceased hostages has proven challenging.
Israel and Hamas have been engaged in a cycle of violence since the start of the war, which began in mid-October last year. The Israeli government accused Hamas of deliberately delaying the recovery of the hostages' bodies, but the organization claimed it was struggling to find them under rubble.
The slow progress on recovering the hostages has hindered efforts to make progress on a second phase of US President Donald Trump's Gaza peace plan. This phase includes plans for governance, troop withdrawal, disarmament of Hamas, and reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.
More than 69,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's retaliatory response, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza, which has reported reliable figures. Two Israeli bodies remain in Gaza, while a third body is being identified as Thai.
The conflict has had devastating consequences for Gaza, with widespread destruction and a total breakdown of infrastructure, according to the BBC. The two-year war has left many families without homes or livelihoods, sparking fears about the future of the region.
man, can u believe whats been going on in Gaza? its like the whole world is just watching these innocent people suffer 
. I remember reading this story about Meny Godard's family who lost their loved one back in '22 and it broke my heart 
. The fact that his body was finally identified after all this time is a small comfort but also super frustrating 
. And the slow pace of recovery is just devastating. I feel like we're just scratching the surface of what's really going on here, you know? The numbers are crazy - 69k Palestinians killed and counting... its hard to even process 
. We need some real action from world leaders to make this peace plan work 
. Can't we just talk things out instead of resorting to violence? 
20 hostages were released but no news on others... I think it's crazy that Israel and Hamas are still fighting 
stats show > 69k Palestinians killed in retaliation 
Gaza's infrastructure is destroyed and families are left homeless 
GDP of Gaza is like $500M, can you imagine? 
The US has a plan for governance and troop withdrawal but what about the rebuild efforts? 
Israel says Hamas delayed body recovery... maybe they should work together 
Anyway, according to BBC, war has been devastating on Gaza... let's hope for peace soon 
charts show > 1k people killed in Oct last year... 
like, we're already so overwhelmed with climate change & global issues, do we really need more wars to deal with? 
... war is such a messy thing, always leaving innocent people caught in the middle, tryin' to survive amidst all this chaos 
... hope they can get this peace plan going ASAP, it's about time we see some progress on that front 
! Like, I get it, Hamas was holding onto these hostages for like 2 months and then suddenly they're all "oh, we've got a body" 
. And now everyone's blaming each other left and right... Israel says Hamas is slowing things down, but Hamas is all "we're just trying to find the bodies under this rubble, dude!" 
.
. All we need is some world leaders to sit down, have a calm cup of tea, and figure out how to make this whole Gaza thing work 
️. Easy peasy! 
It's like a never-ending cycle of violence, and it's hard to see when it's gonna end.
. And now they're saying that a body has been confirmed as Meny Godard, but I'm not sure if that's enough - what about the others? It feels like Israel and Hamas are more focused on blaming each other than actually working together to find peace.
the fact that there's been so much violence since October is crazy - it's not like they're trying to make progress or anything 
... but at the same time, you can't help but feel that hamas has been playing some games by delaying the recovery of the bodies... it's all so complicated 
I feel so bad for Meny Godard's family, losing their loved one like that 
.
i feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders can you even imagine how heartbreaking it must've been for his family all these months