The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed condolences this Saturday to the family of Idan Shtivi, a Portuguese-Israeli who was held hostage by Hamas and whose body has now been recovered.
“The government pays heartfelt tribute to the Portuguese-Israeli citizen Idan Shtivi, taken hostage by the terrorist group Hamas during the horrific attacks of October 7, whose body has now been recovered,” read a post shared on the MNE’s X (formerly Twitter) account.
“It extends condolences to the family and the people of Israel, standing in solidarity with their suffering,” concluded the Ministry.
O Governo presta sentida homenagem ao cidadão luso-israelita Idan Shtivi, feito refém pelo grupo terrorista Hamas nos terríveis ataques de 7 de Outubro, cujo corpo foi agora recuperado. Apresenta condolências à família e ao povo de Israel, solidarizando-se com o seu sofrimento.
— Negócios Estrangeiros PT (@nestrangeiro_pt) August 30, 2025
The recovery of Idan Shtivi’s body was announced by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) this evening. In a statement on X (formerly Twitter), the IDF noted that the 28-year-old “acted heroically to help rescue and save many others participating in the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023. May his memory be a blessing.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also commented, stating that the return to Israel had already been authorized. Like the IDF, he highlighted Shtivi’s assistance to many festival participants during the attack on October 7, 2023, amid rising tensions between Tel Aviv and Hamas.
Netanyahu also expressed his “heartfelt condolences to the Shtivi family” and thanked Israeli authorities for their “determined and bold action.”
“So far, 207 hostages – 148 of whom are alive – have been returned to Israel. We will continue to take tireless and determined actions, in various ways, to bring back all our hostages, alive and deceased,” he assured.
In addition to the government, the Israeli ambassador to Portugal, Oren Rozenblat, also remembered the Portuguese-Israeli, noting that “Idan was a sustainability student who loved nature, photography, and animals.”
“The family of Idan Shtivi visited Portugal several times to fight for his return. May his memory be blessed,” he stated in a communiqué accessed by Notícias ao Minuto.
Rozenblat reminded that “there are 48 hostages in the clutches of Hamas” and guaranteed that “Israel will not stop until all hostages return home.”
Idan Shtivi’s death was confirmed on October 7, 2024, one year after the attacks carried out by Hamas against Israel.
On Friday, the Israeli prime minister had already announced that the IDF had recovered the bodies of two hostages, including Ilan Weiss, 56, who was killed during the attack on the Be’eri kibbutz. However, the confirmation of the second victim’s identity was only released this Saturday, identifying him as the Portuguese-Israeli.
