IDF identifies body of man thought to have been taken hostage by Hamas

June 3 (UPI) -- The body of Dolev Yehud, a 35-year-old man who was presumed to have been taken hostage by Hamas during its Oct. 7 attack on Israel, has been identified, the IDF said Monday.

Yehud lived in Kibbutz Nir Oz in southern Israel that had been attacked by Hamas militants who killed residents and took others hostage.

It was initially believed that Yehud had been taken hostage along with his 28-year-old sister, Arbel Yehud, who remains in Hamas custody in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza .

However, a body discovered in Kibbutz Nir Oz has been identified by medical officials from the National Institute of Forensic Medicine and Shura military base as belonging to Dolev Yehud, according to the IDF.

The IDF said in a statement Monday that he was killed by Hamas "when he left his house in order to save lives" on Oct. 7.

"May his memory be a blessing," the IDF said.

According to Bring Our People Home , which has created campaigns for each of the hostages, Dolev Yehud was a volunteer with Israel's national emergency services Magen David Adom and United Hatzalah.

Officials initially believed that the father of four had been taken hostage, but grew uncertain amid the war as there were no indications from Gaza of him being there, The Times of Israel reported.

With this development, the total number of hostages taken by Hamas drops to 251.