IDF: The Four Israeli Hostages Hy’d Discovered Last Week Were Found in Jabaliya Terror Tunnels

By Hamodia Staff

The four Israeli hostages Hy”d discovered last week were found in terror tunnels in the Jabaliya camp during an intensive military operation, the IDF disclosed on Monday.

During a joint operation conducted last weekend, the 202nd Battalion Combat Team, Yahalom soldiers, Unit 504 and the ISA, under the command of the 98th Division, rescued the bodies of four Israeli hostages – Shani Louk, Amit Buskila, Ron Benjamin and Yitzchak Gelernter Hy”d – from underground tunnels in Jabaliya in northern Gaza.

The four were murdered during the October 7th massacre, and the terrorists brought them subsequently into Gaza.

A soldier whose name has not yet been released was tragically killed in the line of duty during the operation to locate the four victims.

The prolonged intelligence effort to locate them was managed by the ISA and the Abducted and Missing Persons Headquarters in the Intelligence Directorate (J2), together with additional units in the IDF. The effort lasted for several months, and included gathering and analyzing intelligence to put together the overall picture.

During operations of the Paratroopers Brigade combat team in the center of Jabaliya, the soldiers of the 202nd Battalion combat team fought in the identified area for three days in intense battles. In a joint operation, IDF Paratroopers and the ISA searched a suspected building in which the tunnel shaft was located. After locating the tunnel shaft, Yahalom soldiers entered the underground tunnel route in a night operation and inside it, conducted combat, neutralized blockades and located intelligence materials and large quantities of weapons. During the fighting, the Yahalom soldiers together with ISA and Unit 504 located the bodies of the hostages and rescued them from the tunnels.