Netanyahu says obligated to return hostages as Israel marks October 7 anniversary

The premier's comments came just hours after an Israeli campaign group announced the death of another hostage held in Gaza

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Monday (October 7, 2024) to bring back all hostages still held by Palestinian militants in Gaza, as the country marked the first anniversary of the October 7 attack by Hamas.

"On this day, in this place, and in many places across our country, we remember our dead, our hostages, whom we are obligated to bring back and our heroes who fell in defence of the homeland and the nation. We went through a terrible massacre a year ago," Mr. Netanyahu said in a statement released by his office.

The premier's comments came just hours after an Israeli campaign group announced the death of another hostage held in Gaza.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said Idan Shtivi, 28, was abducted from the site of the Nova music festival and his "body is still held captive by Hamas".

The Hamas attack on October 7 resulted in the death of 1,205 people on the Israeli side, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures, which includes hostages killed in captivity.

Out of 251 people taken hostage that day, 97 are still being held inside the Gaza Strip, including 34 who the Israeli military says are dead.

More than 41,909 Palestinians, a majority of them civilians, have been killed in Israel's military campaign in the Gaza Strip since the war began, according to data provided by the Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza. The UN has acknowledged these figures as reliable.

Published - October 07, 2024 11:43 pm IST