Since the U.S.-brokered ceasefire in Gaza began on Oct. 10, Palestinian militants have returned the remains of 23 people held since the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks. But five hostages’ remains specified in the truce have not yet been handed over, and progress has been slow. Hamas says some remains are buried under rubble from Israel’s two-year offensive; Israel accuses militants of delaying and has warned it may resume military operations or restrict aid if the bodies are not returned.
In the most recent transfer, Hamas returned the remains of an Israeli man identified as Lior Rudaeff, 61, who died while fighting in the Oct. 7, 2023 attack. In exchange, Israel has released the bodies of 285 Palestinians to Gaza; Israel has not provided details on their identities or the circumstances of their deaths. Gaza health officials, working with limited resources and DNA kits, have identified 84 of the bodies recovered so far.
The five people whose remains have not been returned are:
Meny Godard, 73
Meny Godard was a professional soccer player before serving in the Israeli military, including in the 1973 war, and later worked in various roles at Kibbutz Be’eri, including at the printing press. On Oct. 7, Godard and his wife, Ayelet, were forced from their home after it was set on fire. Ayelet hid in bushes, was later found and killed; she told relatives that Meny had been killed before she died. The family held a joint funeral. They are survived by four children and six grandchildren.
Hadar Goldin, 23
Goldin is the only one of the five whose remains have been held in Gaza since before the current war. The Israeli soldier was killed on Aug. 1, 2014 — two hours after a ceasefire that ended that year’s Gaza war — and evidence recovered from the tunnel where his body was taken led the military to conclude he had been killed there. Goldin is survived by his parents and three siblings, including a twin; he had proposed to his fiancée before his death. His family earlier this year marked 4,000 days since his body was taken. (The military retrieved the body of another soldier from the 2014 war earlier this year.)
Ran Gvili, 24
Gvili served in an elite police unit. Recovering from a broken shoulder sustained in a motorcycle accident, he rushed to help fellow officers on Oct. 7. After assisting people fleeing the Nova music festival, he was killed in fighting at another site and his body was taken to Gaza. The military confirmed his death about four months later. He is survived by his parents and a sister.
Dror Or, 52
Or worked for 15 years at the dairy farm on Kibbutz Be’eri and had become the farm manager; he was known as an expert cheesemaker. On Oct. 7, while the family hid in a safe room, militants set the house on fire. Dror and his wife, Yonat, were killed. Two of their children, Noam, 17, and Alma, 13, were abducted and later released during the November 2023 ceasefire. Dror is survived by three children.
Sudthisak Rinthalak
Rinthalak was a Thai agricultural worker employed at Kibbutz Be’eri since 2017. Media reports say he was divorced. On Oct. 7, 31 Thai workers were taken, the largest national group of foreign hostages; most were freed in the first and second ceasefires. Thailand’s foreign ministry has reported that 46 Thais have been killed during the war.
The exchange and identification process remains sensitive and slow. Gazan health officials face shortages of DNA testing kits and other resources, complicating efforts to confirm identities and complete the returns called for under the truce.