Bodies of murdered hostages Amiram Cooper and Sahar Baruch brought home to Israel

The Prime Minister's Office announced on Thursday evening that Amiram Cooper, who was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz, and Sahar Baruch, abducted from Kibbutz Be’eri, are the hostages whose bodies were returned to Israel tonight.

“The government of Israel shares in the deep sorrow of the Cooper and Sahar families and all the families of the fallen hostages,” read the statement from the Prime Minister’s Office.

Currently, the bodies of 11 more hostages are still being held in the Gaza Strip.

Amiram Cooper was kidnapped together with his wife, Nurit, who was released from captivity on Oct. 23, 2023. In December 2023, Hamas published a video showing 'proof of life' and in June 2024, the IDF announced that he had been killed in captivity in the Khan Younis area, likely around December, together with Haim Peri, Nadav Popplewell, and Yoram Metzger, during a period when the IDF was operating in the area.

On Oct. 7, 2023, Sahar Baruch and his brother Idan barricaded themselves for hours in the safe room of their home in Kibbutz Be’eri while terrorists set the house on fire. When they felt they could no longer breathe, they climbed out the window. Idan was murdered and Sahar was kidnapped to Gaza. In December 2023, his family was informed that he was dead. In May 2024, the IDF announced that Sahar had been killed during an attempt to rescue him from captivity.

The development regarding Cooper and Baruch comes as the ceasefire falters following Hamas violations, including an attack on IDF troops that killed Master Sergeant (res.) Effi Feldbaum in southern Gaza. The IDF responded with airstrikes across the Gaza Strip, reportedly causing dozens of casualties.

Last Monday, remains belonging to hostage Ofir Tzarfati were returned to Israel in a deceptive move by Hamas. Most of Tzarfati's remains had already been rescued in an operation in November 2023 and brought for burial in Israel. A drone from Division 252 documented Hamas terrorists staging the recovery of a 'hostage body.'

The terrorists were seen digging with a tractor in Shejaiya, Gaza, and placing the body of a hostage they had removed from a building, covering it with soil, and then calling in Red Cross personnel to show that they had “retrieved” the body of an Israeli hostage from the ground. It turned out they were, in fact, Tzarfati's remains.

A security official said last night that Hamas is deliberately pursuing a policy of only slowly releasing the bodies of hostages, and that Israel has evidence of this, according to KAN News.