Body of 65-Year-Old Hamas Hostage Found by IDF Near Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City

In a sad development amidst the Israel-Hamas war, the body of 65-year-old hostage Yehudit Weiss, who was captured by terrorists during the October 7 attacks, was found near the Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, Israel Defense Forces said in a statement Thursday. Weiss was a resident of kibbutz Be’eri, and her family has been notified and her remains returned to Israel.

The kibbutz came under intense assault during the attacks, and Hamas terrorists murdered more than 120 of its residents, including children, while kidnapping others.

The official account of the State of Israel mourned:

Heartbreaking 💔

We are devastated to share that the body of Yehudit Weiss, a 65 year old Israeli woman who was taken hostage and murdered by Hamas was found by the IDF in a structure near the Shifa Hospital.

Kalashnikov rifles and RPGs were also found in the structure.… pic.twitter.com/dk4E3HVhYF
— Israel ישראל 🇮🇱 (@Israel) November 16, 2023

The tweet continues:

Kalashnikov rifles and RPGs were also found in the structure. Yehudit was a cancer patient whose husband Shmuel was murdered by Hamas terrorists on October 7. May Yehudit’s memory be a blessing.

As we reported, IDF raided the hospital Wednesday and found weapons and information on hostages that they say prove Hamas was using it as a battle station:

Entering an MRI room at the hospital, the BBC’s [Lucy] Williamson reports that the IDF says it has recovered “more than a dozen Kalashnikovs, grenades, personal protective equipment, some of it with the Hamas military brigade insignia on it — you can see some of them here, hidden under these bags of medical supplies.”
“We’re also told that there have been laptops found with some information about the hostages — recent files that suggest this may have been a Hamas operating base as recently as a few days ago,” she adds.

Hamas has consistently denied they use hospitals as bases of operation, but Israel has provided video and other evidence that shows otherwise, and now they have more.

IDF tweeted their condolences, writing:

Yehudit Weiss was a 65-year-old who worked with kindergarten kids.

On October 7, Yehudit was abducted by Hamas from her home in Kibbutz Be’eri. Her husband, Shmulik Weiss, was murdered in their home. Yehudit and Shmulik were parents to 5 children.

IDF soldiers recovered her body from a building adjacent to the Shifa Hospital in Gaza earlier today.

AK-47s, RPGs, and other military equipment were also found where Yehudit's body was located.

The IDF sends its heartfelt condolences to the Weiss family.

Over 200 hostages were taken during the unprovoked Oct. 7 attack, and their conditions are unknown. IDF did not give out any details about how Weiss died, but they did say that Hamas killed her and that her body was found in a "structure" near the hospital. She had been battling cancer before her untimely death.

Her family told an Israeli news outlet of their pain:

"Today we were told that Yehudit's body has been retrieved from Gaza," her family told KAN News after the announcement.
We have battled and fought for our grandmother and mother, it's too late for us," the family said. "We just finished 30 days of mourning for our grandfather, her husband" Shmulik, who was murdered on October 7.
"But we are still calling on Israel to return all the hostages. It is not too late for them."

May she rest in peace.

Yehudit Weiss, 64, was sick with cancer when Hamas death squads murdered her husband in Be’eri and abducted her to Gaza on October 7.

The IDF found her body in a building containing Kalashnikovs and RPGs adjacent to the Shifa Hospital. 💔 pic.twitter.com/Ik7UuP18Ok
— Eylon Levy (@EylonALevy) November 16, 2023