Israeli forensics identified the body of another hostage received from Gaza on Tuesday as 48-year-old Dror Or who was killed by Islamic Jihad on October 7. 

The National Institute of Forensic Medicine announced the identification of Mr. Or on Wednesday morning, some 14 hours after his body was handed by the Red Cross to Israel. The army officially determined his death on May 2  last year. 

The IDF said Mr. Or’s body was dragged from Kibbutz Be’eri to Gaza on October 7 after he had been killed by Islamic Jihad. Two of his children, Alma and Noam, were also kidnapped from the kibbutz on October 7 but were released as part of the first ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas in November 2023. 

The Hostage Forum described in detail what the family went through on October 7, saying they first took shelter in their safe room when the attack began in the early morning hours. 

“When the entire house caught fire, Dror and Yonat (his wife) decided to take their children out through the window, an action that saved their children’s lives. Dror and Yonat then split up and tried to escape, but were murdered by the terrorists,” the forum said. 

The Prime Minister’s Office released a statement following the identification of Mr. Or, saying Hamas is required to “uphold its commitments to the mediators and return the fallen hostages as part of the implementation of the agreement. We will not compromise on this and will spare no effort until we return all of the fallen hostages, every last one of them.”

Mr. Or had managed the kibbutz dairy production in recent years and specialized in cheesemaking in Italy. 

“Beyond making exceptional cheeses, Dror was a chef who practiced and taught yoga, all while being an active and involved father and a loving, supportive husband,” the forum said. 

The last two slain hostages that remain in Gaza are Ran Gvili and Sudthisak Rinthalak from Thailand. 

As Israel received the remains of Mr. Or, the IDF continued to crack down on armed Palestinians crossing the Yellow Line which marks the eastern part of the enclave controlled by Israel. 

On Tuesday, the IDF killed six armed Palestinians in Gaza; one in the northern part of the enclave, which crossed the yellow line and posed an “immediate threat” to soldiers; the other five were killed in eastern Rafah where IDF troops encountered them inside the Israeli controlled area. 

“They were likely the terrorists who emerged from the underground terror infrastructure in eastern Rafah,” the IDF said. 

The IDF also said it launched a “broad counterterrorism operation in the northern West Bank, along with Shin Bet intelligence and Israeli Border Police. 

The army reportedly spread leaflets in the Palestinian city of Tuba, reading: “Your area has become a haven for terrorism. Israeli security forces will not accept this and will act with force and determination. If you do not change this, we will act as we did in Jenin and Tulkarm.”