IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said the bodies had been brought home after an operation carried out on Thursday night by the Israeli military and the country’s security agency Shin Bet.
Video footage widely circulated on social media shortly after the Hamas attack purportedly showed the body of Ms Louk, a German-Israeli tattoo artist, being paraded through the streets of Gaza, surrounded by armed fighters. An estimated 250 hostages were kidnapped in the attack, in which militants killed about 1,200 people. More than 100 hostages were released last November in exchange for Israel releasing about 240 Palestinian prisoners.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was “heartbroken” by the news, while pledging to “return all of our hostages – living and deceased alike”.“I congratulate our brave forces who, with determined action, returned our sons and daughters home.”