The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced on August 20 that they have recovered the bodies of six Israeli hostages during an operation in the Gaza Strip, according to a report by Haaretz.
The hostages were held by Hamas, the militant group responsible for the deadly attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Their bodies were found in a tunnel in Khan Yunis.
The IDF believes that the Hamas militants who held them had fled following an Israeli attack.
The Times of Israel reports that the military has identified the six hostages as 80-year-old Yoram Metzger, 79-year-old Chaim Peri, 78-year-old Avraham Munder, 75-year-old Alex Danzig, 51-year-old Nadav Popplewell, and 35-year-old Yagev Buchshtab.
The IDF suspects that five of the hostages—Danzig, Buchshtab, Peri, Metzger, and Popplewell—were killed in early 2024.
Their deaths were announced by the military in June and July, but the death of Avraham Munder had not been previously reported.
The IDF is continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding the hostages' deaths, including the possibility that they could have been killed during Israeli military actions.
Investigation Continues
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his condolences to the families of the victims and vowed that Israel "will continue to make every effort to return all of our hostages, both living and dead."
The hostages are believed to have been kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz and Kibbutz Nirim during the Hamas attack on Israel.
On October 7, 2023, Hamas took 251 people hostage during their assault. Currently, authorities estimate that 105 hostages remain in Gaza, including 34 individuals whose deaths have been confirmed but whose bodies have not yet been recovered.
Hamas has previously released 109 hostages, including 105 during a ceasefire in November 2023. The IDF has also rescued seven hostages and recovered the bodies of 30 others, including three who were accidentally killed by the military as they tried to escape.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on August 19 that Israel has supported the U.S. proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages, adding that "the next important step is for Hamas to say yes."
