essay about army in nepali

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Security and development: Role of the Nepali Army in nation building

This paper aims to highlight the integral role of Nepali Army towards national security and development. The researcher has applied secondary source of research design to collect the information. The result suggested that the Nepali Army played a major role in the formation as well as the development of Nepal as a strong stable nation–state. For the national security, the Nepali Army had fought many battles. Their contribution was visible from the unification campaign initiated by Prithvi Narayan Shah in 1740 AD to the Nepalese Civil war fought between the Communist Party of Nepal and the government of Nepal from 1996 to 2006. Similarly, for the development of the nation, their role is visible in infrastructure development, building civil military relation, disaster management, nature conservation and so on. Nepali Army along with the national security has been expanding its role in sectors like education, health and recreation with the interest of serving the people.

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We analyze the prosperity of Nepal in relation to security forces of Nepal. The main argument discussed in this article is competent and committed security forces of Nepal contribute to foster and promote prosperity of Nepal. The prosperity of Nepal means the safeguarding sovereignty, territorial integrity, nationality, unity in diversity and maintaining law and order situation in the country. This can be achieved through development of security personnel, formulation of good policies which guides security forces and cultivation of favourable environment in the country. However, there are risk factors associated with this venture if not working properly.

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Dr.Uttam Khanal

The history of the Nepal army is brave and glorious in the context of the world military. They protect their own motherland and also making independence, integrity, sovereignty for the nation is its motto. The great campaign for the nation's security, freedom and protection of the nation through movement is the main goal. It has made an incomparable contribution to the nation; war with the British-Nepal, Nepal-Tibet-China and World War also. It has been successfully achieved with skillful leadership of the military in the past four and half centuries. This paper is fully gathering important information of Nepal army for past to present now. It is getting to answer the question: What was the role of the army to protect the nation? What skill full tactics made to British war? Was Nepal's army leading a symbolic role of national unity? Why is the Nepali army bravery in the world? All evidence is taken using analytical methods, briefly of the army's history, role and geo-strategic importance, activities of historical expectation, skills used in different wars for national unity and integration. The army was organized in 1744 by the Gorkha state of Prithvi Narayan Shah and it was the first military structure in South Asian countries. The War of British-Nepal has been a proud history since 1814 and also written as golden words by the side of Britain to the Nepali army. It is very useful evidence for all Nepali people and from other countries of the world that the military will be bright in the future.

KTFT JOURNAL Vol-III

Subash Thapa

This study explores the pivotal role played by the Nepali Army in fostering national development in Nepal, specifically through its engagement in infrastructure development, disaster management, and other allied development activities. This paper qualitatively highlights the Nepali Army's contribution, responsible for a broad range of development projects, including road construction, river training, sewerage management, and disaster mitigation. Notably, the Nepali Army's experience and proficiency in dealing with difficult terrain make it an ideal partner for development work in Nepal, especially in addressing socioeconomic disparities. Moreover, this study discusses the benefits of the Nepali Army's involvement in national development, such as timely and cost-effective construction, community outreach, and geo-political considerations. Precisely, this paper underscores the significance of the Nepali Army's role as a development army, which is a critical component of Nepal's national development strategies.

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The dimensions of national security are increasing in the world day by day. In a similar fashion, development is also becoming a multi-perspective phenomenon. However, both of them differ from country to country. Therefore, it needs a better understanding of the country-specific scenarios. The scenario of Nepal is also a specific subject matter in this regard because of its own inherent multidimensional features related to its geography, economy, sociocultural aspects, environmental aspects, and others. This study aims to explore the key dimensions of national security, key perspectives of development, and the two-way interrelation between national security and the development of Nepal. More specifically, this study focuses on the following research questions in the context of Nepal: What are the key dimensions of national security? What are the key perspectives of development? How dimensions of national security and perspectives of development interrelate to each other? This is qua...

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A sovereign nation –state requires a strong military institution and the Nepali Army demands its personnel’s obedience, loyalty, sacrifice and discipline to maintain command and control. However, as an established principle, civilian control of the military is desirable to the military control of the state. The concept of Civil Military Relations (CMR) is dynamic, evolutionary and country specific. Such a bond between an official security organization and the public in general change with regime shifts, external imperatives and technological innovations. The impact of regime changes and political movements has been observed in various aspects of politics, society in Nepal is not an exception. In this line, this article deals on the theoretical discourse of CMR, reviews the constitutional and legal provisions and examines the factors influencing CMR in Nepal from the period of modern nationstate formation to present days. Along with existing debates around the role of the Nepali Army...

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As like in other developing democracies, it is obvious that there are many Civil-Military Relations (CMR) problems in Nepal. A lack of national security policies and common national interests, ignorance of security sensitiveness, political instability, parochialism, mistrust, are prominent factors contributing to Nepal's adverse civil-military relations. However, the military thought has already begun to tuning with democratic norms and values should further be engaged in serious organizational reform that includes among others; enhancing professionalism, further accountability, transparency and loyalty of army to the civilian authority followed by earliest promulgation of democratic constitution with the clear provision of democratic control over armed

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This is an assignment written in the context of Civil-Military Relations in Nepal.

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The growing tensions in the southern part of Asia, surely ask for the new security strategy as well as the change in foreign policies of Nepal, as its influence over its surviving capability. This paper mainly evaluates the realist approach where Nepal needs to change the "intransigent policies" and gives a supportive explanation regarding it. At first, this paper will critically examine Nepal's existing domestic policies which is highly deepened from India's side. It will also examine the challenges faced by Nepal through this "special relationship" and answers for why there needs diversification in its alignment strategy. At last, I will critically examine the benefits of the new alignment strategy, from the realist approach. This theory explains the results of the change in alignment. This will be done by critically evaluating other small states' security and foreign policies approach, where they have punched above its weight, and how can Nepal do it too?

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Conducive civil-military relations (CMR) is essential for political stability, good governance, and the country's prosperity. However, there has been a misunderstanding or misinterpretation of this concept in some quarters in Nepal. The CMR is the relationship between the government and the military, especially the higher echelon of the officer corps, generally expressed as civilian control of the military. Good CMR is vital for national security and defence, which calls for organizing the military by balancing the societal and functional imperatives. While there are many existing theories in CMR, Nepal must focus on democratic civilian control as the country has embarked on a democratic political system. The features of democratic civilian control include division of authority between the state's organs and the military, parliamentary oversight, subordination of the military to civil society, and maintaining the credibility and accountability of the military. This qualitati...

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UN Day Special Feature: The proud story of Nepali Army in UN Peacekeeping Mission

File Photo. Credit: (UN Photo/Isaac Billy)

Itahari, Oct 24. Today marks the 75th Anniversary of the United Nations (UN), a global organization founded in the aftermath of the Second World War. Owing to its inception to establish peace, the first sentence of the preamble of the UN charter, which contains 111 articles in 19 chapters, says, ”We the peoples of the United Nations determined to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime brought untold sorrow to mankind.”

The representatives of 50 countries assembled at San Francisco of United States had signed on the UN charter on 24 October 1945. Now, UN has 193 member states. According to the official UN website, UN Day celebration was started from 1948. The website says, ”In 1971, the United Nations General Assembly recommended that the day be observed by Member States as a public holiday.”

Nepal and UN

Nepal, despite being the oldest sovereign nation in South Asia, got its membership only after a decade of the UN’s establishment.

Nepal obtained UN membership only in 1955 together with Sri Lanka from South Asia. Before Nepal, India (1945), Afghanistan (1946) and Pakistan (1947) were UN members from the subcontinent.

On 14 December 1955, sixteen nations including Nepal got UN membership. Other 15 nations getting membership together with Nepal were Austria, Albania, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Laos, Libya, Portugal, Romania, Sri Lanka and Spain.

Since its entry into the UN, Nepal has actively utilized its rights and duties in the world body. Nepal’s first Permanent Representative to the UN was Rishikesh Shaha (1956-1960). The current Permanent Representative is Amrit Kumar Rai. He is the 13th Permanent Representative to the UN from Nepal. Nepal’s Permanent Representatives have been creatively engaged in various UN functions and forums. Nepal was successful to be elected as a member of UN Security Council twice from 1969-70 and 1988-89. Most importantly, Nepal and UN had an excellent collaboration in the peace process of Nepal ending the decade-long Maoist armed struggle. Besides, the world body has supported Nepal in its socio-economic development endeavours through its various agencies as UNDP, UNICEF and other specialized agencies over the years.

Nepali Army in UN Peacekeeping Mission

Among the various executive works of United Nations, peacekeeping is an important one. Department of Peace Operations of the UN heads this peacekeeping mission. According to UN website, there are currently 70,000 UN peacekeepers worldwide. Popularly known as ‘Blue Helmets’, UN peacekeeping is an integral part of Nepal’s military contribution to the world peace. According to the Permanent Mission of Nepal to the UN, Nepal is the fourth-largest troops and police-contributing country among 193 UN member states.

Nepali Army has been actively participated in UN peacekeeping mission. As of 20 September 2020, Nepali Army has 12 peacekeeping missions in various parts of the world. According to the official website of Nepali Army, currently it has 5,124 soldiers, including 178 female soldiers, serving in 12 different missions around the world.

The ongoing peacekeeping missions are in Congo, South Sudan, Sudan, Western Sahara, Israel, Lebanon, Mali, Syria, Central African Republic, Iraq and Libya.

The peacekeeping mission from Nepali Army in UN was initiated just after three years of Nepal’s membership at the UN. In 1958, five military observers from Nepali Army were deployed in Lebanon under the banner of United Nations Observer Group in Lebanon. After sixteen years, Nepali Army deployed its troops for peacekeeping in Egypt in 1974. The pioneering peacekeeping contingent was of Purano Gorakh Battalion.

With six decade plus peacekeeping mission in UN, Nepali Army has earned great reputation by its presence in 43 UN missions with its 130,882 personnel so far. However, this contribution was not cakewalk for Nepali Army personnel. According to Nepali Army, 68 personnel have died in the line of duty as Blue Helmets. In addition, 66 personnel have been physically disabled while discharging their duties as UN peacekeepers.

UN has awarded Nepali peacekeepers at times. For example, on 21 February 2020, Nepali peacekeepers got UN medals. It is the latest UN medal for Nepali Army just three years after its previous UN medal for its contribution at South Sudan on 12 December 2017.

According to the official UN website of peacekeeping.un.org, the medal parade coincided with the marking of the Nepali Army Day- providing an opportunity to celebrate both the medal recipients from the 5th Nepalese Force Military Police and country’s rich peacekeeping history.

Describing the cause of medal awarded to Nepali Army personnel, the UN peacekeeping website said, ”In the Central African Republic (CAR), Nepali peacekeepers have played a key role in MINUSCA’s efforts in the pursuit of stability, security and peace in the country- they received UN medals for their service at a ceremony held at M’poko Transit Camp in Bangui on 21 February 2020.”

It further added, ”The 120-troop unit- comprising of 102 males and 18 females- has helped maintain public order, manned check points to ensure compliance with traffic rules and regulations, conducted 24-hour sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) prevention patrols and investigations on SEA allegations, monitored the observance of curfew hours, worked to prevent the smuggling of contraband items during troop rotations, participated in water-distribution programs as well as secured strategic national sites.”

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Mon, 20 May 2024 Today's Paper

Sri Lanka Army promotes 1,509 officers and other ranks

19 May 2024 08:43 am - 11     - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

President Ranil Wickremesinghe, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, approved these promotions based on the recommendations of the Ministry of Defence and Army Commander Lieutenant General Vikum Liyanage.

The promotions are effective from May 19, 2024, coinciding with National War Heroes Commemoration Day.

  Comments - 11

Concerned Citizen Sunday, 19 May 2024 09:19 AM

Another big salary and benefits bill to be paid by innocent tax payers… on top of the the LKR 40Bn cost increase during the last 2 years. What a shame !

Reply 0       0 0       0 -->

Steve Sunday, 19 May 2024 09:34 AM

What have they done during the last 15 years to deserve promotions?

Ask the Maldivians for details. Sunday, 19 May 2024 11:32 AM

This is a strange question. If not for the sacrifice of armed forces, people will not be living in virtual safety and security even now. No need to repeat the carnage and loss of lives of all races, by terrorists whose leader worked for a plan of a foreign nation.

Reply : 0       0 -->

Downsizing is Paramount for Now Sunday, 19 May 2024 09:34 AM

Congratulations but time to downsize the forces. Those having the slightest disciplinary issue should be removed and only dedicated soldiers are kept. Once the economic situation improves, invest in newer and AI technology instead of more manpower who will need perks and high salaries.

Miracle of Asia Sunday, 19 May 2024 09:36 AM

There is nothing to celebrate proudly.

ROSH Sunday, 19 May 2024 10:11 AM

Unelected master debating president promoting stay in power forever

Spend big with other peoples money Sunday, 19 May 2024 11:41 AM

Ranil is spending big. He knows very well the next generation(s) is going to pay for it till the year 2500. 1509 votes for Ranil at the next election? Have you forgotten the sacrifices made by our Navy and Air Force personnel?

Skandaruba Sunday, 19 May 2024 12:00 PM

Is this being done on merit or as an election ploy. Everybody knows that RW needs to keep the armed forces and the Rajapakse’s happy since Jew dose t have a party or many supporters.

Gune Sunday, 19 May 2024 01:25 PM

Another practice only happening in SL; providing automatic promotions to public servants. No wonder this country is bankrupt. Promotions should be based on need and merit, and never based on the day people join public service. Any such appointments should be after a proper interview and such higher positions should be very few. These mass scale promotions in SL public service are a joke.

Ram Sunday, 19 May 2024 02:55 PM

Election Bribes.

Navi Sunday, 19 May 2024 07:21 PM

Engage them in farming and make SL self sufficient in Rice and couple of other aricultural products. Also, hand them over the Dairy to produce necessary milk for the Country. Bring the COL down. Use them for a purpose and not to just feed

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Revisit Congress Avenue in 1914, where revelers in cars crowd out horse drawn buggies

You don't have much time before Father's Day, which falls on June 16 this year, to match the magnificent gift given by a Texas man, originally from Marlin, who came close to immortalizing his father.

Jack Robertson, 81, uncovered a treasure trove of old Texas documents, essays, letters, photos and other ephemera in a box of memorabilia that had belonged to his father, Rupert Robertson (1895-1968).

A University of Texas professor emeritus of accounting, Jack recognized the historical value of Rupert's descriptive essays written for his English classes at UT from 1914 to 1916, as well as the evidence from his military service during World War I, when Rupert was a balloonist.

Since the elder Robertson starred on the Marlin high school track team and earned his track letter at UT in Austin, his son Jack wanted to preserve his father's writing at the university's Lutcher Stark Center for Physical Culture and Sports, a marvelously eccentric museum and archive tucked into the north end of Royal Memorial Stadium.

Terence "Terry" Todd, the late director of the Stark Center, and his wide, Jan Todd, current director, welcomed Rupert's personal papers, many from more than 100 years ago.

"Terry asked me to include a biography of my father, so independent researchers could add the personhood of the author to the context of the stories," Jack says. "Ten months and 62 pages later, I delivered the biography."

You read that right, the dutiful son produced a biography of his father that weighs in at 62 single-spaced pages, which, while short of being a book, is much more than a bio sketch.

I can't pretend to have read every word of this opus, but combined with Rupert's own writing, the world of Texas in the early 20th century became incrementally clearer to me through this gift from Jack Robertson.

A choice essay on Austin from Rupert Robertson

In 1914, Rupert Robertson wrote the following essay about a night on Congress Avenue, one of many he executed for English classes at UT. Note the keen details as Rupert's attention wanders — through various sentence structures — from one sensation to another. This was a time when most of the city's commercial traffic and entertainment venues were concentrated on Congress, but before the Paramount Theatre opened as the Majestic Theatre in 1915.

This particular personal anecdote — and others like it from all over the state — is available digitally to the public at thestoryoftexas.com through the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum as part of the "Help Us Tell the Story of Texas" project.

"The rain is coming down slowly, and it wets the street so that it glistens under the big arc lights like a large mirror.

"The red and yellow drays are bespattered with mud. The streetcars, automobiles and other vehicles are rumbling down the street with such a terrible drum that I would think I was by myself if I could not see the throng of people moving up and down the street.

"Some are gazing at the beautifully lighted show windows which contain various shades of the latest styles of clothing; some are on the inside of the store purchasing articles, and some are looking at the red, white and green moving picture signs, and debate with themselves whether to go in or stay outside and parade the street with the "mob."

"The crowd is composed mostly of university students, but they are not in a hurry tonight. This is unusual, because as a general rule, these fellows are restless, and always go with push and vim wherever they are. But the college spirit is here, for every now and then I hear the jolly laugh of some young man at the joke or remark of one of his companions.

"Boys and girls in couples, clad in their grey and brown rainproof garments, are present in great numbers. There is an air of happiness and success among them as they go down one side of the street and come up the other; the thought of the green-back English book and the brown cloth-covered mathematic text is left behind and forgotten.

"The crowd is divided into groups which represent different fraternities, clubs and various other organizations. Each individual bunch has a characteristic of its own. The Rusticusses wearing big hats, the Phi Gamma Deltas grey mackinaws with a blue stripe, the Sigma Nu's ties, and the other organizations have some similar distinction.

"The rest of the crowd is compiled of town girls and boys; brown (Mexican American); Negro men and women; and a great part of the Jewish population. Here and there, and at every corner, I see a policeman watching the crowd as a cowboy on horseback watches a herd of cattle.

"The street is as crowded with vehicles as the sidewalks are with people. Along the curbing are many automobiles with their radiators pointing toward the crowd and the rear ends toward the middle of the street. At intervals are found horses and buggies, but not many because automobiles are rapidly taking their place.

"Then there are the candy vendors in their dingy clothing, selling brown peanut and pecan candies. The popcorn man has his wagon driven close to the curbing, and is selling chewing gum, peanuts and pink popcorn. The whole scene has an atmosphere of relaxation and freedom in spite of the gloominess of the weather."

Rupert Robertson the athlete

"After starting the biography," Jack Robertson writes, "I needed to continue to the end."

Rupert Cook Robertson was born March 31, 1895 in the rural town of Kosse, Texas (pop. 500) in southern Limestone County. His father, Charles Onward "C.O." Robertson was born in Alabama in 1867; his mother Martha Adeline "Mattie" Price Robertson, was born in Blue Ridge in Falls County in 1872.

Rupert was known as a "city boy" in Kosse, where his family owned a general store, but he spent much time on his grandfather's Price's farm in Falls County, where "all activity revolved around the fields and seasons."

Even in the early 20th century, rural Texas remained closer to the rhythms of the 19th century. "His transport was shoe-leather and horse-and-buggy," his son writes. "His water came from a well. His sanitation was the outhouse. His entertainment was outdoors with family and friends."

Socially, this was the "segregated South," with scant interaction between the races, other than the employer-worker relationships, Jack reminds readers.

Rupert was not the only Kosse native to make it big in sports. David E. "Kosse" Johnson Jr. starred as a halfback on the Rice Institute team during the 1950s and was drafted by the Green Bay Packers.

Another nearby exposure to big-time sports: Pro baseball teams — such as White Sox, Cardinals, Reds, Athletics and Giants — held spring training camps in nearby Marlin, which attracted flocks of tourists because its mineral water that promised reputed healing properties.

Rupert attended Marlin High School from 1912 to 1914. He lived in a boarding house operated by his Aunt Clara Belle Price. Even today, one can walk by blocks and blocks of sizable Victorian and farmhouse-style homes in Marlin.

Since his father disapproved of football, Rupert ran track. State high school track meets were held at UT's Clark Field beginning in 1905. The big four regional teams were Belton, San Antonio, Austin and Dallas. According to University of Texas Interscholastic League records, Marlin competed strongly from 1910 to 1915, and the school earned the top spot in 1914. As usual, Rupert won individual and team medals. (Jack's documents on these events are startlingly detailed.)

When Rupert entered UT in 1914, Austin was home to about 30,000 people, and 2,300 of those were members of the university's student body. His freshman class, for which he served as secretary-treasurer, counted 674 members.

Rupert said he wanted to study business in order to take over the family general store in Kosse. Jack always imagined that his father was recruited for his track skills, but he also turns up evidence of family and friends who had attended UT, and would have supported Rupert collegiate aspiration. He belonged to that generation of Texans whose families had survived pioneer life in the country and saw brighter horizons for their children in the cities and through higher education.

Rupert joined an athletic fraternity, Sigma Delta Psi, as well as Kappa Alpha, which includes among its brothers athletes who were Rupert's friends. Sports were already big on campus and getting bigger. Folks like Billy Disch, L. Theo Bellmont and Clyde Littlefield led what was becoming a dominant college power in football, basketball, track, tennis, gymnastics, wrestling and soccer — Rupert played wing on the soccer team. In track, he did well in high hurdles, mile relay and other events.

Life in the military and its aftermath

UT sports hollowed out, however, once the U.S. entered World War I on April 6, 1917. Athletes were among the first to enlist and the campus opened military training centers, which were later badly stricken by the flu epidemic in 1918-1919.

Rupert enlisted in the Army on Aug. 5, 1917 in Houston. Much of what he wrote about his first months is fairly anodyne but still illuminating about Austin and San Antonio, where he trained at Camp Travis, during the war. (For instance, Rupert did not pause his habit of dating campus beauties.) After basic training, he was assigned to Fort Omaha, Nebraska, on March, 26 1918 to enter the balloon school. He qualified to be a spherical balloon pilot.

Rupert's family expressed concern whenever the press reported balloon any accidents and explosions, but young man made it through two years in the corps unscathed. He skipped the flu, too, at a time when the military was among the hardest hit sectors in the U.S. by the pandemic. Aug. 30, 1918, Rupert was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Air Service. After a series of service flights, he was honorably discharged on Aug. 11, 1919 with bronze victory button.

The rest of Rupert's young adult life was spent working in real estate, insurance and various other Kosse businesses, as well as farming citrus fruit and working for firms in the Rio Grande Valley, Corpus Christi and California. In the Valley, he met and married widow Lois Lucille Rose Bartlett; they produced Sara Ellen Robertson Moore and Jack Robertson.

Rupert suffered from various medical conditions, including diabetes and depression, some of them traced to his military service. Lois taught school and the family eventually moved to Marlin, where Jack grew up. A good deal of the remaining personal history consists of Jack's childhood memories of his family while growing up there. (We'd need another column or two to do that part justice.)

Rupert died Jan. 10, 1968 at age 72.

Michael Barnes writes about the people, places, culture and history of Austin and Texas. He can be reached at [email protected]. Sign up for the free weekly digital newsletter, Think, Texas, at statesman.com/newsletters, or at the newsletter page of your local USA Today Network paper.

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Israeli army finds bodies of 3 hostages in Gaza killed at Oct. 7 music festival

This combo from photos provided by Hostages Families Forum Headquarters shows from left, Itzik Gelernter, Shani Louk and Amit Buskila. The Israeli military said Friday, May 17, 2024, its troops in Gaza found the bodies of the three Israeli hostages killed by Hamas during its Oct. 7, 2023 attack, including German-Israeli Shani Louk.(Hostages Families Forum Headquarters via AP)

Passersby observe the photos of hostages held in the Gaza Strip that are plastered to the walls of a plaza known as Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, Israel, Friday, May 17, 2024. The Israeli military said Friday its forces rescued from Gaza the remains of three Israeli hostages taken by militants during the Oct. 7 attack, including 22-year-old German-Israeli Shani Louk, 28-year-old Amit Buskila, and 56-year-old Itzhak Gelerenter. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty).

FILE - Ricarda Louk sits in front of a placard of her missing daughter Shani Louk Tuesday Oct. 17, 2023, in Tel Aviv. The Israeli military said Friday, May 17, 2024, it found the bodies of three Israeli hostages in Gaza, including Louk. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo, File)

FILE - Palestinian militants drive back to the Gaza Strip with the body of Shani Louk, a German-Israeli dual citizen, during their cross-border attack on Israel, Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023. The Israeli military said Friday, May 17, 2024, it found the bodies of three Israeli hostages in Gaza, including Louk. (AP Photo/Ali Mahmud, File)

People watch smoke rising to the sky after an explosion in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Friday, May 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)

People gather in the plaza known as Hostages Square after Israel’s announcement that its military had recovered the bodies of three Israeli hostages in Tel Aviv, Israel, Friday, May 17, 2024. Israel said that the hostages, identified as Shani Louk, Amit Buskila and Itzhak Gelerenter, were killed by Hamas during its Oct. 7 attack and their bodies were then brought to Gaza. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

Passersby observe the photos of hostages held in the Gaza Strip that are plastered to the walls of a plaza known as Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, Israel, Friday, May 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty).

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JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli military said Friday its troops in Gaza found the bodies of three Israeli hostages killed by Hamas during its Oct. 7 attack, including German-Israeli Shani Louk.

A photo of 22-year-old Louk’s twisted body in the back of a pickup truck ricocheted around the world and brought to light the scale of the militants’ attack on communities in southern Israel. The military identified the other two bodies as those of a 28-year-old woman, Amit Buskila, and a 56-year-old man, Itzhak Gelerenter.

All three were killed by Hamas while fleeing the Nova music festival , an outdoor dance party near the Gaza border, where militants killed hundreds of people, military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said at a news conference.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the deaths “heartbreaking,” saying, “We will return all of our hostages, both the living and the dead.”

The military said the bodies were found overnight, without elaborating, and did not give immediate details on where they were located. Israel has been operating in the Gaza Strip’s southern city of Rafah, where it says it has intelligence that hostages are being held.

Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people, mainly civilians, and abducted around 250 others in the Oct. 7 attack. Around half of those hostages have since been freed, most in swaps for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel during a weeklong cease-fire in November.

Israel says around 100 hostages are still captive in Gaza, along with the bodies of around 30 more. Israel’s war in Gaza since the attack has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials.

Netanyahu has vowed to both eliminate Hamas and bring all the hostages back, but he’s made little progress. He faces pressure to resign, and the U.S. has threatened to scale back its support over the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

Israelis are divided into two main camps: those who want the government to put the war on hold and free the hostages, and others who think the hostages are an unfortunate price to pay for eradicating Hamas. On-and-off negotiations mediated by Qatar, the United States and Egypt have yielded little.