The Hostages and Missing Families Forum announced Saturday that the body of kidnapped Israeli Eliyahu “Churchill” Margalit from Nir Oz has been identified at the Institute of Forensic Medicine.
Margalit, who came to the kibbutz with a Nahal gar’in from the Hashomer Hatzair youth movement, was known as a devoted cattleman and horseman. For many years, he managed the kibbutz’s cattle branch and horse stables. He was married to Dafna, and together they raised three children — Noa, Dani and Nili — and had three grandchildren.
He was a longtime member of the “Riders of the South,” a group bound by more than 50 years of shared love for horseback riding. On Oct. 7, as he went to feed his horses, terrorists attacked Nir Oz. Margalit was murdered near his stables, and his body was abducted to Gaza. The stables were destroyed, and eight horses were stolen by Hamas gunmen. The site resumed activity in June last year, without him.
Dafna, his wife, survived the massacre. Their daughter Nili, a nurse, was kidnapped and held in Gaza for 55 days before being released.
After a day with no transfers of fallen hostages’ remains, Hamas handed over Margalit’s body to the Red Cross on Friday night. Israeli forces received it in Gaza and brought it to the forensic institute for identification. According to a joint statement from the IDF and Shin Bet, “Hamas must uphold the agreement and make every effort to return the bodies of the hostages.”
Eighteen hostages’ bodies are still held in Gaza. They include Col. Asaf Hamami, Capt. Omer Neutra, Lt. Hadar Goldin, Sgt. Itay Chen, Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, Cpl. Oz Daniel, Meni Godard, Aryeh Zalmanovich, Tal Haimi, Tamir Adar, Dror Or, Ronen Engel, Sahar Baruch, Amiram Cooper, Lior Rudaeff, Thai nationals Sonthaya Oakkharasri and Sontisek Rintalk, and Joshua Mollel of Tanzania.
Hamas informed mediators of Margalit’s transfer following Israeli claims that the group knows the locations of at least 10 more bodies but is “not making enough effort” to recover them, preferring to use them as bargaining chips.
Israeli officials have said Hamas “can do more to locate the bodies,” noting that Israel has already provided mediators with coordinates to aid the search.
Senior Hamas political bureau member Mohammed Nazzal told Reuters that the group has “no interest in holding onto the bodies of hostages,” while Israeli officials responded that “Hamas was obligated to release all the hostages in the first phase — it did not. Hamas knows where our hostages are.”
Earlier this week, Hamas claimed it had already transferred all bodies “that could be reached,” citing technical obstacles in locating additional remains. Nazzal said international mediators may assist in future recovery efforts.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, is expected to arrive in the region, including Israel, early next week to discuss the continued implementation of the hostage deal and the return of the remaining bodies.
Sources familiar with the discussions said that Witkoff has been closely monitoring the process and “promised not to relent until all the hostages’ bodies are brought home,” including several American citizens. “The U.S. is fully engaged in this effort,” one official said, “and it’s clear they haven’t taken their foot off the gas.”