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By Eugenia Yosef, Oren Liebermann, CNN
Jerusalem (CNN) — The Israeli government identified the deceased hostage whose remains were handed over by Hamas on Thursday as Manny Godard, 73, an Israeli resident of a kibbutz near the Gaza Strip.
Godard and his wife Ayelet were killed during the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israeli communities near the Strip. His body was then taken to Gaza.
During the attack, Godard and his wife hid in the safe room of their home in Be’eri Kibbutz. They later fled after their house was set on fire, and the attackers “ambushed them outside,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a statement Thursday. After the father of four was killed, “Ayelet hid in the bushes for several hours before she was also murdered,” the forum added.
Godard spent his childhood on Israeli beaches alongside his father, who was a lifeguard, the forum said. Later, Godard also became a lifeguard, the group said.
Israel’s National Center of Forensic Medicine confirmed his identity after his remains were released by Hamas to the International Committee of the Red Cross and then turned over to Israeli authorities. The handover leaves three remaining deceased hostages in the Gaza Strip.
Israel is “determined, committed and tirelessly working to bring back all of our fallen hostages for a proper burial in their homeland,” the prime minister’s office said in a statement announcing the identification of Godard.
In a transfer that was part of a US-brokered ceasefire agreement, Israel earlier said it received a coffin containing the remains via the Red Cross in Gaza and transported them to Israel’s national forensics laboratory for identification. Hamas did not identify which of the last few deceased hostages it was handing over.
Hamas’ military wing said earlier Thursday that it would hand over the body of an Israeli found near Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
This release of remains comes after a series of such transfers last week, including that of the longest-held deceased hostage in Gaza. On Sunday, Hamas handed over the remains of Lt. Hadar Goldin, who was killed in the final days of a 2014 conflict between Israel and Hamas. The transfer of Goldin’s remains was the fifth such occurrence in little more than a week, bringing Hamas down to the final few deceased hostages still in Gaza.
Israeli intelligence has assessed that Hamas may not be able to find and return all the remaining dead hostages in Gaza. But Hamas has continued to search for remains in different parts of Gaza.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum has continued to organize rallies in Tel Aviv and elsewhere across Israel calling for the release of the remaining deceased hostages.
Eitan Horn, who was recently freed after 738 days in captivity, said in Hostages Square last weekend: “I cannot begin my journey of healing and recovery as long as I know there are families who are not with me on this journey. We have no future without the return of all the hostages.”
Other freed hostages have expressed the same sentiment, saying they cannot begin to heal until all of the hostages – living and deceased – have returned home.
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