Body Returned by Hamas Identified as Tanzanian Hostage Joshua Loitu Mollel

Representatives of the IDF and the Foreign Ministry informed the family of Joshua Loitu Mollel, a 21-year-old student from Tanzania who was kidnapped and murdered during the October 7 attacks, that his body was returned to Israel Wednesday night and positively identified.

According to the Prime Minister’s Office, “Following the completion of the identification process by the National Center of Forensic Medicine, in cooperation with the Israel Police and the Military Rabbinate, representatives of the IDF and the Foreign Ministry informed the family of the fallen hostage, Joshua Loitu Mollel, a student from Tanzania who was abducted to the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, that their loved one has been returned to Israel and his identification has been completed.”

Mollel came to Israel just two weeks before the massacre to study agriculture at the Ibim agricultural campus near Sderot. As classes were set to begin after the holiday season, he worked temporarily on kibbutzim alongside Thai agricultural workers. He was assigned to the dairy farm at Kibbutz Nahal Oz, where he was kidnapped and murdered on the morning of October 7th.

According to Israeli and Tanzanian officials, Mollel had finished a morning shift and was riding his bicycle home when Hamas terrorists ambushed the area. He was surrounded by dozens of attackers and murdered in what officials later described as “unimaginable cruelty.” His family was officially notified of his death in December 2023.

Mollel was the eldest of five children. His father, Loitu, traveled to Israel after the attack to seek information about his son’s fate. Joshua’s friends and teachers described him as “polite, diligent, and always smiling,” and said he had dreamed of returning to Tanzania with new skills to strengthen local agriculture.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a statement: “Joshua Loitu Mollel, of blessed memory, from Tanzania, arrived at Kibbutz Nahal Oz only 19 days before the Dark Shabbat. He planned to study practical agriculture in Israel and return home with tools for his community. He was murdered and kidnapped to Gaza during the October 7 massacre. His family describes him as courteous, kind, and hardworking, with a big smile that never left his face.”

The Hostage Affairs Directorate under the Prime Minister’s Office said it “bows its head and shares in the sorrow of the Mollel family,” adding that it “will continue to accompany the family, along with all the other families of hostages and returnees. We pray for the swift return of all the remaining six hostages still held by Hamas.”

Kibbutz Nahal Oz also expressed its grief, writing: “The Nahal Oz community mourns with the family of Joshua Loitu Mollel. He was kidnapped from our kibbutz and returned for burial last night. Joshua arrived for an agricultural training program and had been here for only 19 days before the Black Sabbath. He did not live to begin his studies. May his memory be blessed.”