Mlaleo
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- Oct 11, 2011
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Joshua Loitu Mollel (Picha Kwa Hisani ya Maktaba)
Mabaki yaliyorejeshwa kutoka Gaza hadi Israel usiku kucha yalitambuliwa kuwa ya raia wa Tanzania Joshua Loitu Mollel, mamlaka ya Israel ilisema Alhamisi.
Wawakilishi wa Jeshi na Wizara ya Mambo ya Nje waliifahamisha familia ya Mollel kwamba mwili wake ulirejeshwa Israeli baada ya wataalam wa uchunguzi kukamilisha utambulisho huo.
Mollel, 21, mkufunzi wa kilimo huko Kibbutz Nahal Oz karibu na mpaka na Gaza, alikamatwa akiwa hai, kisha akauawa na magaidi wa Hamas asubuhi ya Oktoba 7, 2023, na mwili wake ukapelekwa Gaza.
Marehemu ameacha wazazi wake na ndugu zake wanne.
"Serikali ya Israeli inashiriki katika huzuni kubwa ya familia ya Mollel na familia zote za mateka walioanguka," Ofisi ya Waziri Mkuu ilisema katika taarifa.
"Amevunjika moyo lakini amefarijika Joshua Loitu Mollel amerudishwa Israeli baada ya siku 761 katika kifungo cha Hamas," Wizara ya Mambo ya Nje iliandika katika mtandao wa X zamani Twiter. "Wakati Joshua hakuwa raia wa Israeli, katika kipindi cha miaka 2 sisi Waisraeli tulimchukulia ndani ya mioyo yetu. Ingawa bado atasafiri nyumbani kwa familia yake nchini Tanzania, tunahisi kama mmoja wetu amerejea."
Alikuwa ni "Mwenye fadhila, adabu na mchapakazi, alitia moyo tumaini na udadisi katika safari yake ya kwanza nje ya nchi," wizara iliandika.
Jukwaa la Hostages and Missing Families lilimpongeza Mollel, likitaja familia ya kijana huyo mwenye umri wa miaka 21 akisema alikuwa na tabasamu kubwa ambalo halikutoka usoni mwake.
"Familia za mateka na waliorejea wanakumbatia familia ya Joshua Loitu Mollel katika wakati huu mgumu, kufuatia kurejea kwa mpendwa wao Joshua jana ili aweze kuzikwa," Jukwaa lilisema katika taarifa yake.
"Katikati ya huzuni yao na ujuzi kwamba mioyo yao haitapona kabisa, kurudi kwa Yoshua kunatoa faraja kwa familia ambayo imevumilia hali ya kutokuwa na uhakika isiyoweza kuvumilika kwa zaidi ya miaka miwili," Jukwaa lilisema. "Hatutapumzika hadi kila mateka arudi nyumbani."
Kibbutz Nahal Oz alisema katika taarifa yake kwamba "ilikuwa katika uchungu na inashiriki huzuni kubwa ya familia ya Joshua Loitu Mollel."
Hamas ilikabidhi mabaki hayo kwa Chama cha Msalaba Mwekundu usiku wa kuamkia leo, na kisha kuyahamishia kwa wanajeshi wa Israel huko Gaza. Kikosi cha Ulinzi cha Israel kilikagua jeneza hilo kabla ya kuliweka kwenye bendera ya Israel na kufanya hafla fupi iliyoongozwa na rabi wa kijeshi.
Wanajeshi wa IDF wakisalimia juu ya jeneza lenye mwili wa mateka Joshua Mollel baada ya kurejeshwa na Hamas, wakati wa hafla fupi katika Ukanda wa Gaza, mwishoni mwa Novemba 5, 2025. (Vikosi vya Ulinzi vya Israel)
ya kuondoka Ukanda huo, mwili huo ulisindikizwa na polisi hadi katika taasisi ya uchunguzi ya Abu Kabir huko Tel Aviv kwa ajili ya utambuzi. Hamas haikutoa utambulisho wa mateka iliowakabidhi.
Mollel alikuwa mateka wa 22 aliyeaga kukabidhiwa na Hamas tangu usitishaji mapigano uanze kutekelezwa tarehe 10 Oktoba, na kusimamisha vita vilivyoanza wakati kundi la kigaidi la Palestina lilipoongoza uvamizi mbaya kusini mwa Israel na kuua watu 1,200 na ambapo magaidi waliwateka nyara watu 251 kama mateka wa Gaza.
Mwanzoni mwa makubaliano hayo, Hamas bado inawashikilia mateka 48 huko Gaza - 20 wakiwa hai na 28 wamekufa. Chini ya masharti ya kusitisha mapigano, ililazimika kuwarejesha wote.
Magaidi hao tangu wakati huo wamewaachilia mateka wote walionusurika, lakini Israel inaishutumu Hamas kwa kuvuta miguu juu ya kurejea kwa mateka waliosalia waliofariki.
Miili 22 iliyorejeshwa nyumbani ni ya Waisrael 19, raia mmoja wa Thailand, Mnepali mmoja na Mtanzania Mollel.
Aliwasili Kibbutz Nahal Oz siku 19 kabla ya Hamas kuvamia
Mollel aliwasili Israel kama mwanafunzi wa kufunzwa kilimo katika Kibbutz Nahal Oz siku 19 tu kabla ya Oktoba 7, 2023. Ilikuwa mara yake ya kwanza kusafiri nje ya Tanzania. Alifurahia kujifunza zaidi kuhusu kilimo, kulingana na AP, na alitaka kufungua biashara yake ya kilimo.
Wakati shambulio lililoongozwa na Hamas lilipoanza, Mollel alikuwa akifanya kazi katika ghala la kibbutz. Alikamatwa akiwa hai, lakini baadaye aliuawa, na mwili wake ukapelekwa Gaza.
Mnamo Desemba 13, 2023, viongozi wa Israeli walimjulisha babake Mollel, Loitu, ambaye alifika Israeli siku hiyo, kwamba mtoto wake alikuwa amethibitishwa kuwa amekufa, habari za Kan ziliripoti. Hapo awali Loitu hakutangaza kwa familia nzima kwamba Mollel alipimwa kuwa amekufa, kwa kuwa hakukuwa na mwili, wala hakuwa na kumbukumbu za kilichotokea, kulingana na ripoti hiyo.
Hata hivyo, siku chache baadaye, sehemu za video za Oktoba 7 zikimuonyesha Mollel zilisambazwa kwenye mitandao ya kijamii. Katika kipande kimoja cha picha, Mollel, ambaye alionekana akiwa na damu lakini miguuni, alionekana akidhibitiwa na genge la magaidi wenye silaha waliokuwa wakimzomea. Klipu nyingine, ambayo inaonekana baadaye siku hiyo hiyo, ilionyesha watu wenye bunduki wakifyatua risasi mara kwa mara kwenye mwili wake uliokuwa karibu.
Kulingana na Kan, familia pana ya Mollel iligundua kwanza juu ya kifo chake kutoka kwa klipu hizo.
Wafanyakazi 36 wa kilimo kutoka Tanzania walikuwa wakiishi Israel karibu na Gaza wakati wa shambulio hilo, kulingana na shirika la kutetea haki za binadamu la Hotline for Refugees and Migrants. Wengine walihesabiwa.
Deceased hostage returned by Hamas identified as Tanzanian national Joshua Loitu Mollel
Mollel, 21, was at Kibbutz Nahal Oz as an agricultural intern on Oct. 7; Foreign Ministry says he was adopted into Israelis’ hearts: ‘We feel like one of our own is back’
By Emanuel FabianFollow
and AgenciesToday, 1:21 pm
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Joshua Loitu Mollel (Courtesy)
Remains returned from Gaza to Israel overnight were identified as those of Tanzanian national Joshua Loitu Mollel, Israeli authorities said Thursday.
Military and Foreign Ministry representatives notified Mollel’s family that his body was returned to Israel after forensic experts completed the identification.
Mollel, 21, an agricultural intern at Kibbutz Nahal Oz near the border with Gaza, was seized alive, then murdered by Hamas terrorists on the morning of October 7, 2023, and his body was taken to Gaza.
He is survived by his parents and four siblings.
The bodies of six slain hostages now remain held in the Strip — five Israelis and one foreign national: Meny Godard, Lt. Hadar Goldin, Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, Dror Or, Lior Rudaeff, and Sudthisak Rinthalak.
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“The Israeli government shares in the deep sorrow of the Mollel family and all the families of the fallen hostages,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.
The PMO said Israel is “determined, committed, and working tirelessly” to bring back the remaining six slain hostages for burial, adding that Hamas is “required to fulfill its commitments to the mediators and return them as part of the implementation of the agreement.”
The six deceased hostages whose bodies were still held in Gaza as of November 6, 2025: (Top row from left) Meny Godard, Ran Gvili, Dror Or; (Bottom row) Sudthisak Rinthalak, Lior Rudaeff, Hadar Goldin. (Collage by Times of Israel; Photos: Courtesy)“Heartbroken but relieved Joshua Loitu Mollel has been returned to Israel after 761 days in Hamas captivity,” the Foreign Ministry wrote in a post to X. “While Joshua wasn’t an Israeli citizen, over the past 2 years we Israelis adopted him into our hearts. While he will still travel home to his family in Tanzania, we feel like one of our own is back.”
“Kind, polite and hardworking, he embodied hope and curiosity on his very first trip abroad,” the ministry wrote.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum paid tribute to Mollel, citing the 21-year-old’s family as saying he had a big smile that never left his face.
“The families of the hostages and the returned embrace the family of Joshua Loitu Mollel at this difficult time, following the return of their beloved Joshua yesterday so he may be laid to rest,” the Forum said in a statement.
“Amid their grief and the knowledge that their hearts will never fully heal, Joshua’s return offers some comfort to a family that has endured unbearable uncertainty for over two years,” the Forum said. “We will not rest until every hostage comes home.”
Kibbutz Nahal Oz said in a statement that it was “in pain and shares the deep sorrow of the family of Joshua Loitu Mollel.”
Hamas handed over the remains to the Red Cross on Wednesday night, which then transferred them to Israeli soldiers in Gaza. The Israel Defense Forces inspected the casket before draping it in an Israeli flag and holding a short ceremony led by a military rabbi.
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After leaving the Strip, the body was escorted by police to the Abu Kabir forensic institute in Tel Aviv for identification. Hamas did not provide the identity of the hostage it handed over.
Mollel was the 22nd deceased hostage handed over by Hamas since a ceasefire took effect on October 10, halting the war that began when the Palestinian terror group led a devastating invasion of southern Israel that killed 1,200 people and during which terrorists abducted 251 people as hostages to Gaza.
At the start of the truce, Hamas still held 48 hostages in Gaza — 20 alive and 28 deceased. Under the terms of the ceasefire, it was obligated to return all of them.
The terrorists have since released all surviving captives, but Israel accuses Hamas of dragging its feet over the return of the remaining deceased hostages.
IDF troops salute over the casket containing the body of hostage Joshua Mollel after it was returned by Hamas, during a short ceremony in the Gaza Strip, late November 5, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)The 22 repatriated bodies belong to 19 Israelis, one Thai national, one Nepali, and the Tanzanian Mollel.
Arrived at Kibbutz Nahal Oz 19 days before Hamas invaded
Mollel arrived in Israel as an agricultural intern at Kibbutz Nahal Oz just 19 days before October 7, 2023. It was his first time traveling out of Tanzania. He was excited to learn more about farming, according to AP, and wanted to open his own agricultural business.When the Hamas-led attack began, Mollel was working in the kibbutz’s barn. He was seized alive, but later murdered, and his body was taken to Gaza.
Destruction caused by Hamas terrorists in Kibbutz Nahal Oz, near the Gaza border, October 20, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)On December 13, 2023, Israeli authorities notified Mollel’s father, Loitu, who arrived in Israel that day, that his son had been confirmed to be dead, Kan news reported. Loitu did not initially transmit to the rest of the family that Mollel was assessed to be dead, as there was no body, nor did he have any record of what happened, according to the report.
However, days later, video clips from October 7 showing Mollel were circulated on social media. In one clip, Mollel, who appeared bloodied but on his feet, was seen being manhandled by a gang of armed terrorists who were shouting at him. Another clip, apparently from later the same day, showed gunmen repeatedly firing into his prone body.
According to Kan, Mollel’s wider family first learned of his death from those clips.
Thirty-six agriculture interns from Tanzania were living in Israel near Gaza at the time of the attack, according to the human rights organization Hotline for Refugees and Migrants. The rest were accounted for
