May 18 (UPI) — Israeli troops recovered the body of Ron Benjamin after he was among 252 people captured during the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, the IDF announced Saturday.

Israeli soldiers found Benjamin’s body along with the bodies of three other hostages in a tunnel near the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, Israeli Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said.

The other three hostages were identified Friday as Shani Louk, 23, Amit Buskila, 28, and Yitzhak Gelernter, 57. Benjamin was 53 years old.

“The Families Forum bows its head and mourns upon receiving the difficult news of the murder of Ron Benjamin by Hamas terrorists and the taking of his body to Gaza as a hostage,” Bring Them Home Now, also called the Families Forum, posted on X.

“Returning his body to Israel is a sacred mission that allows his family to grant him eternal rest in the land of Israel,” Bring Them Home Now said.

The organization said 128 hostages have been waiting 225 days to be released and returned to Israel.

It urged the Israeli government to focus on negotiating for the release of all hostages held by Hamas.

Benjamin was married to Ayelet and is the father to Shay and Gil, loved cycling, and was enjoying a bicycle ride when taken hostage from the Kibbutz Be’eri area, Bring Them Home Now said.

Several attempts to negotiate a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas have failed.

Israel in the past week began a limited push into Rafah in the southern Gaza strip, where four remaining Hamas brigades are located.

The United States officially designated Hamas a foreign terrorist organization on Oct. 8, 1997.