DEATHS OF TWO ISRAELI HOSTAGES CONFIRMED ON BASIS OF NEW MATERIAL OBTAINED BY IDF

Deaths of Two Israeli Hostages Confirmed on Basis of New Material Obtained by IDF

A member of a medical committee tasked with examining hostages' conditions said that, to date, the deaths of more than 30 people previously thought to be hostages have been confirmed by the committee: 'There were visual materials, among other things, for all of them'

May 08th, 17PM May 08th, 17PM

The death of the Israeli hostage Lior Rudaeff of Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak was determined on the basis of a video that the army obtained last week, according to a member of the Committee for Examining the Condition of the Hostages, Prof. Ofer Merin of Shaare Zedek Medical Center.

In an interview with the Army Radio on Wednesday, Merin said, "This is new material, which we did not have previously." On the basis of the video material, he said, the committee determined that Rudaeff was killed in battle in Nir Yitzhak on October 7, and that his body has been held in Gaza since.

Merin also said that last week's determination of the death of Dror Or of Kibbutz Be'eri was also based on new photographic documentation. "This specific case (of Rudaeff) joins another case from last Thursday, that of Dror Or. People for whom there was no information about them for six months ... just last week, Military Intelligence was able to obtain various materials, some of them filmed," he explained.

"Hamas members documented things, with Go-Pros and other kinds of cameras. There is security footage inside Gaza. As the IDF progresses and reaches the materials, some footage also gets to us," he added.

Marin also said that the IDF is investing considerable effort to issue and analyze intelligence that could provide information about the hostages. "The moment new material arrives, we convene the committee within 24 hours," he said.

To date, the deaths of more than 30 people previously thought to be hostages have been confirmed by the committee, according to Merin. "There were visual materials, among other things, for all of them."

Lior Rudaeff, 61, left behind a wife, Yaffa. They were married for 38 years, and had four children – Noam, Nadav, Bar, and Ben, and three grandchildren – Tomer, Dagan, and Shai. He was born in Argentina, made aliya at the age of seven with his parents, and settled in Nir Yitzhak.

Rudaeff worked at the kibbutz in farming and as a truck driver. He was also a volunteer medic with Magen David Adom emergency services and was the kibbutz's ambulance drive.

Yaffa Rudaeff stayed in their house's shelter for over 14 hours and was rescued. Their son, Ben, was able to escape from the Nova festival.

Dror Or, 48, was also murdered on October 7, and his body is held by Hamas. His wife, Yonat, was also murdered in the attack on the kibbutz, and their children Noam, 17, and Alma, 13, were kidnapped and released in November. Their brother, Yaheli, a National Service volunteer in the north, was unharmed.

2024-05-08T15:02:18Z dg43tfdfdgfd