The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) recovered the body of Staff Sergeant Tomer Yaacov Ahimas from the Gaza Strip, The Times of Israel reported on Wednesday.

Ahimas, a 20-year-old non-commissioned officer, was killed on October 7 when his unit fought Hamas militants near the Israeli town of Kibbutz Nirim. report. (Related article: Washington Post retracts Gaza death toll after criticizing Israeli-American hostage families)

LIVE UPDATES: Body of soldier killed in Oct. 7 fighting recovered from Gaza https://t.co/THhicfyXVA

— ToI Alerts (@TOIAlerts) July 24, 2024

The media said the bodies of Ahmias and two other soldiers were taken to the Gaza Strip by Hamas fighters.

“Tonight we received news that the body of the late Tomer Atchimas has been brought back to Israel. His body was held hostage by Hamas for more than nine months and was rescued tonight by the IDF,” Elad Arraji, chairman of the Lehavim Local Council, told The Jerusalem Post. reportLehavim is Akimas' hometown, the Times of Israel reported, adding that authorities announced the recovery of the bodies of two other hostages on Wednesday.

The media reported that local authorities confirmed that the bodies of Oren Goldin and Maya Goren were returned to Israel by the Israel Defense Forces. The burial of the fallen sergeant is scheduled for Thursday, according to the Times of Israel, and he is survived by his parents, four siblings and a boyfriend. The media reported that the family held an absent funeral for Ahimas on November 29.

The IDF announced on May 17 that it had recovered the bodies of three other hostages in Gaza. Shani Luke, Amit Bousukira and Yitzhak Gelenter were taken from the Nova music festival. “We continue our operations to bring all the hostages home and may their memory be a blessing,” the IDF vowed.

The Hamas invasion of Israel on October 7 left 1,200 Israelis dead and the terrorist group took more than 200 hostages to the Gaza Strip. Some of the hostages, including Alex Dansig and Yagev Bukshtab, died in captivity.