Israel recovered the bodies of three more hostages held by Hamas following the terror group’s attack on Israel in October 2023.

The remains of the three hostages were recovered by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) during a special operation on Saturday and have been identified as Ofra Keidar, Yonatan Samerano and Shay Levinson, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum Headquarters.

“Our hearts are with the Keidar, Samerano, and Levinson families today,” the organization said. “Alongside the grief and pain, their return provides some comfort to the families who have waited in agony, uncertainty and doubt for 625 days.” 

The group added that the return of all hostages is essential for national healing and recovery.

ISRAELI HOSTAGE FAMILIES MAKE DESPERATE PLEA TO TRUMP AS ‘TIME IS RUNNING OUT’ 

The Israeli Defense Forces also confirmed that the three hostages’ remains had been recovered from Gaza. The bodies of Keidar, Samerano, and Levinson were recovered during a special operation carried out by the IDF and the Israel Security Agency (ISA) on Saturday. 

The IDF credited “precise intelligence received from the ISA, the Hostage Task Force, and the IDF Intelligence Directorate” and said it extends “condolences to the families and will continue to make all efforts possible to bring home all the hostages.” 

Keidar, a resident of Kibbutz Be’eri, was kidnapped on Oct. 7, 2023, by Hamas terrorists “while taking her usual morning walk through the fields she loved,” according to the Hostage Families Forum. 

She worked on a dairy farm for 30 years, caring for newborn calves and “was a dedicated worker with exceptional physical strength,” the organization said. 

“Later, she moved to the local petting zoo, where she worked for 15 years, and even after reaching retirement age, she never slowed down.”

The body of Ofra Keidar was recovered by Israeli forces. She was 71 at the time of her death.  (Hostages and Missing Families Forum Headquarters)

“Anyone who visited her home could see her greatest loves, aside from her family – her dogs, especially poodles, and tending to her garden and houseplants,” the forum added. 

The IDF noted that Keidar, who was 71 at the time of her death, “was a mother of three and the wife of Shmuel Keidar, who was also murdered by Hamas terrorists in their home in Be’eri.”

HAMAS AGREES TO RETURN BODIES OF 4 ISRAELI HOSTAGES IN EXCHANGE FOR HUNDREDS OF PALESTINIAN PRISONERS

Samerano, who was 21 at the time of his death, “was brutally murdered and abducted from Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7, 2023, by Hamas terrorists, including a UNRWA employee, after fleeing the Nova music festival,” according to the IDF. 

The body of Yonatan Samerano was recovered by Israeli forces. He was 21 when he died.  (Hostages and Missing Families Forum Headquarters)

Yonatan, or “Yonati” as his friends and family called him, “was always surrounded by friends – a talented DJ who just wanted to make music, bring joy, and travel,” the Hostage Families Forum said. 

“Even at his young age, he was an entrepreneur at heart and a savvy businessman who dreamed of developing his career in event production.” 

Levinson, a staff sergeant and tank commander in the “Oz” (77) Battalion, “engaged and fought terrorists on the morning of October 7 and fell in combat,” according to the IDF. 

The body of Shay Levinson was recovered by Israeli forces. He was 19 at the time of his death. (Hostages and Missing Families Forum Headquarters)

“He was then abducted by Hamas terrorists.” 

Levinson, who was 19 years old at the time of his death, is remembered as “a quiet and exceptional young man – ambitious and driven, who pushed himself to excel in sports and every field that interested him,” the Hostage Families Forum said. 

“Shay, a resident of Givat Avni in the Lower Galilee, was an outstanding player on the M.S. Eilabun volleyball team – a team that serves as a model for Jewish-Arab cooperation,” according to the organization. 

“Shay chose to forgo the opportunity to receive active athlete status and instead chose meaningful combat service in the IDF.”

Washington, DC – As United States President Donald Trump lauded what he called the “spectacular military success” of the strikes he authorised against Iran, Democrats were quick to accuse him of overstepping his authority.

Numerous critics accused Trump late on Saturday of violating the US Constitution by launching military attacks against Iran’s nuclear sites without the approval of Congress.

“Trump said he would end wars; now he has dragged America into one,” Senator Christopher Van Hollen Junior said in a statement.

“His actions are a clear violation of our Constitution – ignoring the requirement that only the Congress has the authority to declare war.”

In the lead up to the US attacks, legislators from both main parties have pushed measures to compel Trump to approach Congress before launching any strikes.

The US Constitution gives Congress the authority to declare war or authorise the use of force for specific purposes.

Trump’s “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) base has also been vehement in its opposition to the US joining Israel’s war. It has pointed out that Trump won the election on the promise not to commit Washington to yet another war in the Middle East. They want Trump to focus on domestic issues, particularly the economy.

‘Grounds for impeachment’

Lawmakers’ authority over the military was further enshrined in the War Powers Resolution of 1973, which curbed the president’s war-making powers.

Progressive Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said Trump violated the constitution and the War Powers Resolution.

“He has impulsively risked launching a war that may ensnare us for generations. It is absolutely and clearly grounds for impeachment,” she said.

The president is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, so he can order attacks, but his decisions must be within the guidelines of what is authorised by Congress.

However, the president can order the military in the case of a “sudden attack” or to respond to emergencies.

Several Democrats were quick to note that Iran’s nuclear facilities, which have been operating for years, did not pose an imminent threat to the US.

The US intelligence community confirmed in an assessment in March that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon.

Trump has increasingly relied on executive powers in governing domestically, and now he appears to be sidelining Congress in his foreign policy.

But with Republicans in control of the Senate and the House of Representatives, lawmakers have few tools to influence his military decision. Impeachment is almost out of the question.

President Trump sending U.S. troops to bomb Iran without the consent of Congress is a blatant violation of our Constitution. pic.twitter.com/pqzAeS4K19

— Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (@RepRashida) June 22, 2025

No legal justification for strikes

Lawmakers have introduced bills under the War Powers Resolution to ban attacks on Iran without the approval of Congress, but Trump is likely to veto the proposals if they pass.

Congress could overturn the veto with two-thirds majorities in the House and the Senate, but Trump’s strikes have enough support to make that outcome unlikely.

The US president has not provided a legal justification for the strikes, but he is likely to argue that he was responding to an urgent situation or cite an existing military authorisation.

In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks in 2001, Congress passed a law allowing then-President George W Bush to launch what would become the global “war on terror”.

Millions of people have been killed and societies devastated due to the US wars on Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, among others, waged as part of the so-called “war on terror”. It has also cost trillions of dollars and the lives of thousands of US soldiers.

In 2002, lawmakers approved another authorisation to allow the invasion of Iraq a year later.

These laws, known as the Authorisation for Use of Military Force (AUMF), remain in place, and previous presidents have invoked them to justify attacks that were not specifically approved by Congress.

Brian Finucane, a senior adviser with the US programme of the International Crisis Group and former State Department lawyer, said the attack on Iran is “patently illegal”.

“Even under the prevailing executive branch doctrine, this is likely to constitute ‘war’ requiring congressional authorization,” he wrote in a social media post.

Statement from Rep. Ilhan Omar on U.S. Bombing of Iran:

“The strikes on Iran, ordered by President Trump and executed without congressional authorization, mark a dangerous and reckless escalation of an already volatile conflict in the Middle East.

“Military strikes will not…

— Rep. Ilhan Omar (@Ilhan) June 22, 2025

Key progressive Senator Bernie Sanders was speaking at a rally in Oklahoma when Trump announced the attack.

As Sanders told the crowd about the US strikes, attendees started chanting: “No more war!”

“It is so grossly unconstitutional,” he said. “All of you know that the only entity that can take this country to war is the US Congress; the president does not have that right.”

Former Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said lawmakers will be “demanding answers” from the administration.

“Tonight, the President ignored the Constitution by unilaterally engaging our military without Congressional authorization,” she said in a social media post.