The body returned to Israel on Tuesday from Gaza has been identified as that of Dror Or, the Israeli Prime Minister's Office said on Wednesday.
The identification was completed in coordination with the National Center for Forensic Medicine, the Israel Police and the Military Rabbinate.
"The Government of Israel shares in the deep sorrow of the Or family and all the families of the abducted fallen," said the PMO.
"The IDF expresses deep condolences to the families, continues to make every effort to return all the deceased hostages, and is prepared for the continued implementation of the agreement," the Israel Defense Forces said.
Or, 48 at the time, was murdered by Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists and his body abducted from Kibbutz Be'eri on Oct. 7, 2023 after his family was forced to flee their burning home. His wife, Yonat, was killed the same day, and two of his children, Alma (13 at the time) and Noam (17 at the time), were taken hostage and later returned alive as part of a ceasefire agreement in November 2023.
The IDF officially determined his death on May 2, 2024.
Or is survived by his children, Yahli, Noam and Alma, parents Dorit and Yuval and siblings Elad and Dana.
He was the last hostage from Kibbutz Be'eri remaining in Gaza.
"A gifted chef and cheesemaker, Dror studied at the Tadmor Culinary School and worked in Tel Aviv restaurants. After moving to Be'eri, he became central to the kibbutz's dairy—studying cheesemaking in Italy & France and running its catering operations with creativity and care," the Israel Foreign Ministry stated in an X post. After 781 days in terrorist captivity, "Dror Or is finally home—for the dignified burial he was denied for too long. May his memory be a blessing," the post continued.
Israeli authorities received the coffin containing Or's body from the Red Cross in Gaza on Tuesday. The Red Cross delivered the body to Israel.
Netanyahu's office said Hamas must fulfill its obligations under the ceasefire agreement to return the bodies of all slain hostages, vowing that Israel "will not compromise" until all captives are brought home.
Earlier in the day, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad announced that they intended to return the remains of a murdered hostage at 4 p.m. local time. The previous handover took place on Nov. 13, when Hamas transferred the body of Meny Godard.
The terror organizations' announcement came minutes after the PMO said on Tuesday that it viewed with "great severity" any delay in releasing the body.
"In light of Palestinian Islamic Jihad's announcement that it has located the remains of a deceased hostage, Israel views with great severity the delay in immediately transferring them to its custody," it said.
"This is an additional violation of the agreement," it added. "Israel demands the immediate return of the three deceased hostages, who are still being held in the Gaza Strip."
Islamic Jihad first claimed on Monday that it had found the remains of a hostage.
"Today, we found the body of one of the enemy prisoners during search operations in areas controlled by the Zionist army in the central Gaza Strip," the Al-Quds Brigades stated, per AFP reporting.
As of Wednesday morning, the bodies of two murdered hostages remained in Gaza: Israel Police counter-terrorism officer Master Sgt. Ran Gvili and Thai national Sudthisak Rinthalak.
Republished with permission from Jewish News Syndicate