ISRAELI BELIEVED TO BE HOSTAGE IN GAZA KILLED ON OCT. 7, BODY FOUND IN GRAVE IN ISRAEL

Israeli Believed to Be Hostage in Gaza Killed on Oct. 7, Body Found in Grave in Israel

210 days after Hamas' surprise attack on southern Israel, the family of Elyakim Libman received word that he was murdered, and not taken to Gaza as had previously been thought

May 03rd, 22PM May 03rd, 22PM

The body of Elyakim Libman, previously believed to be one of the Israeli hostages held in Gaza, was found recently in a grave of another victim of the October 7 attacks, in Israeli territory.

Representatives of the Israel Defense Forces, the health ministry and the Abu Kabir Institute of Forensic Medicine informed the Libman family on Friday that 24-year-old Elyakim was murdered during Hamas' surprise attack on October 7.

Due to the chaos that took place during the process of collecting and identifying those killed by Hamas on October 7, the religious services ministry ordered the reopening of many graves.

Haaretz has learned that several additional deaths of people who were thought to have been kidnapped to Gaza were determined by reopening graves of October 7 victims.

Elyakim was the son of Eliyahu Libman, the former head of the Kiryat Arba Regional Council. The Tikvah Forum, a group affiliated with some of the hostages' families, said that Elyakim had worked as a security guard at the Nova Musical Festival. Following the attack, he assisted in evacuating many partygoers.

Libman was named after his uncle, who was murdered in a terror attack in 1998. He was the fourth of eight kids, and grew up in the West Bank settlement of Kirya Arba, near Hebron.

During his yeshiva years, he participated in a youth program, where he met his good friend Eitan Mor, who was kidnapped to Gaza on October 7 by Hamas. Libman served in the IDF's Golani Brigade.

Following his release from the army, Libman studied culinary arts and began working at a restaurant. He moved to Tel Aviv a few months before his death, having told his friends he planned to attend law school.

On the morning of October 7, Elyakim managed to call his father, telling him about the unfolding attack. "Terrorists, terrorists," he whispered into the phone, "There are lots of people with gunshot wounds that need immediate evacuation."

2024-05-03T19:29:26Z dg43tfdfdgfd