Israel recovers bodies of 6 hostages in Gaza

 

 

ISRAEL on Sunday said it had recovered the bodies of six hostages in Gaza, including a young Israeli-American man who became one of the most well-known captives held by Hamas as his parents met with world leaders and pressed for his release.

 

The military said all six had been killed shortly before the arrival of Israeli forces trying to rescue them. Their recovery sparked calls for mass protests against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom many families of hostages and much of the wider Israeli public blame for failing to bring them back alive in a deal with Hamas to end the 10-month-old war. Negotiations over such a deal have dragged on for months. Netanyahu expressed sorrow over the deaths and said Israel would hold Hamas accountable for killing them in“cold blood”. He said the killings prove that the militant group does not want a a ceasefire agreement.“Whoever murders hostages doesn’t want a deal,” he said. Militants seized Hersh G o l d b e r g - Polin, 23, and four of the other hostages at a music festival in southern Israel during Hamas’ October 7 attack, which triggered the war.

 

The native of Berkeley, California,lostpart of his left armtoagrenadeintheattack. In April, a Hamas-issued video showed him, his left hand missing and clearly speaking under duress, sparking new protests in IsraelurgingtheGovernment to do more to secure his and others’ freedom. The army identified the other dead hostages as Ori Danino, 25; Eden Yerushalmi, 24; Almog Sarusi, 27; and Alexander Lobanov, 33; who were also taken from the music festival.Thesixth,CarmelGat,40, wasabductedfromthenearby farming community of Be’eri.It saidthebodies were recovered fromatunnel in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, around a kilometer (half a mile) from where another hostage, Qaid Farhan Alkadi, 52, was rescued alive last week. “According to preliminary information, they were cruellymurderedbyHamas terrorists shortly before we reached them,” Rear Adm. DanielHagari,theIsraelimilitary spokesperson, told reporters.Hamashasoffered to release the hostages in return for an end to the war, the withdrawal of Israeli forces and the release of a large number of Palestinian prisoners, including highprofile militants. Izzat al-Rishq,asenior Hamas official, blamed the hostages’ deaths on Israel and the United States, saying they would still be alive ifIsraelhadacceptedaceasefireproposalthatHamassaid it had agreed to back in July.

 

 

HAMAS continues to hold 101 hostages in Gaza including women, children, and the elderly, said the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) Spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani, in a s tatement on Sunday regard- ing the recovery of the bodies of six hostages. “It is with a h eavy heart that we share the news that the bodies of six hostages who were all taken hostage alive by Hamas during the October 7 m assacre and murdered in Hamas captivity were recovered from inside the tunnel in Rafah and have been brought back to Israel,” the Spokesperson said in a video on X. He added, “At this stage, we assess that the hostages were murdered by Hamas terrorists shortly before our soldiers wabletoreachtheminsidethe tunnel in Rafah.”

 

“We will not stop until every hostage is brought home,” he said. The IDF has located and recovered the bodies of six hostages, including two women,froma tunnelinthe Rafah area in the Gaza Strip. The deceased were identifiedasHershGoldberg(23), an Israeli-American citizen, Eden Yerushalmi (24), Carmel Gat, Almog Sarusi (27), Alex Lubnov (33), a fatheroftwo,andOriDanino (25), Israel Foreign Ministry saidinapostonsocialmedia platform X. TheHostagesandMissing Families Forum of Israel announced major protests acrossthecountryonSunday after the bodies of hostages were recovered. The forum representing many relatives of hostages held in Gaza called on the publictostagemajorprotests against the Government on Sunday.