The Israeli army announced that it had found the body of Franco-Israeli hostage Elya Toledano in the Gaza Strip. The 28-year-old was kidnapped by Hamas during the October 7 attack while attending a music festival.
The worst news. The Israeli army announced this Friday, December 15, that it had found the remains of Franco-Israeli Elya Toledano “during a special operation in Gaza.” The 28-year-old was kidnapped by Hamas during the October 7 attack while attending the “Tribe of Nova” music festival, held on an Israeli kibbutz near the border with the Palestinian enclave. The man had been taken hostage with his friend Mia Schem, who was released on November 30.
The body of Elya Toledano has been identified by the medical and rabbinical authorities and the family of the Franco-Israeli has been notified. He was brought back to Israel by the army. But while the man’s identity was confirmed, the Israeli army did not specify in what condition the remains were found, nor where and when.
The 28-year-old man was a music enthusiast who worked in events organizing weddings and even bar mitzvahs, described his brother to Le Parisien. The funeral of Elya Toledano is scheduled for this Friday at noon in Jerusalem (11 a.m. in Paris).
Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna expressed her “immense sorrow” on X, former Twitter, after the announcement of the death of Elya Toledano. She also said she “shares the pain of her family and loved ones”. After the release of four Franco-Israeli hostages – young Mia Schem and three children – and the death of Elya Toledano, three more French people are held hostage by Hamas: Orion Hernandez Radoux, Ofer Kelderon father of two freed hostages and Ohad Yahalomi, also father of a child surrendered by Hamas. “The release of all the hostages is our priority,” insisted Catherine Colonna.
Beyond the French hostages, a total of 134 people are still in the hands of Hamas since the attack on October 7. “Our national mission is to locate the hostages and bring them all home. We are working in collaboration with security agencies and with all intelligence and operational assets to bring all the hostages home,” assured the Israeli army. which warns of the possibility of not finding them all alive.
On Tuesday, December 12, the Israeli army had already announced the discovery of the remains of two hostages: Eden Zakaria, 27 years old and taken hostage at the Supernove music festival, and Ziv Dado, a 36-year-old army logistics supervisor.
