Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Tuesday comforted the parents of Gabi Ingel, the Israeli tourist who was found dead earlier in the day as a result of the devastating earthquake that hit Christchurch, New Zealand last week.
During a telephone conversation, Netanyahu said "We are grieving and crying with you. All the people of Israel closely followed the attempts to locate your son."
RELATED:Netanyahu meets with parents of missing Israelis in NZGallery: Rescuers try to save New Zealand quake victimsIngel's father commented on the aid and support they received. "The only thing that consoles us is that we met so many good people in Israel, who helped us and turned the world upside-down to try and find Gabi. "
Early on Tuesday morning, the bodies of
Ofer Levy and Gabi Ingel, missing since last week
following the earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand, were found and identified by local search and rescue crews.
The
Foreign Ministry notified the families of the two 22-year-old
backpackers from Rehovot that their loved ones had been found dead.
Earlier this week, local police identified the body of another Israeli killed in the Christchurch earthquake, Ofer Mizrahi.
Two more Israelis, known to be in New Zealand at the time of the earthquake, have not made contact with their families.
The death toll from last Tuesday's 6.3 magnitude quake is 155, but authorities expect it to rise to near 240.