IDF finds remains for hostage Manny Goddard in Gaza, But family demands "No more risk to soldiers"

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and the Israel Security Agency (ISA) have confirmed that they located the remains of hostage Manny Menachem Goddard in the Gaza Strip. Goddard was kidnapped and murdered by the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization during the deadly attack on October 7, 2023. Despite recovering significant findings associated with his remains, the IDF has not yet been able to retrieve his body from the Gaza Strip.

The remains were discovered in an Islamic Jihad outpost located in Rafah, southern Gaza. The Israeli forces, as part of a recent operation, were able to recover some physical evidence pointing to Goddard's remains. A forensic examination conducted by the National Institute of Forensic Medicine and the Israel Police confirmed the findings, and IDF representatives have informed the Goddard family.

Though the body was not successfully recovered, the IDF is continuing its efforts to locate and retrieve the remains. During a rally in Tel Aviv on Saturday night, Manny Goddard's daughter, Bar Goddard, shared an emotional update about the situation. She explained that while the IDF had successfully retrieved a refrigerator containing parts of her father’s remains from an Islamic Jihad post, the operation did not succeed in recovering his full body.

In her speech, Bar Goddard urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir to reconsider further operations to retrieve her father's remains, emphasizing the risks posed to Israeli soldiers. She expressed her family’s desire for the remains of her father, and the remains of all hostages, to be returned through a comprehensive deal, rather than through dangerous operations.

"We demand that you bring him and all the other hostages back — in a single deal. That is what needs to happen — now," she declared, calling for swift action in resolving the hostage crisis.