Israel claims that six hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip have had their bodies recovered by its forces.
The remains were discovered in an underground tunnel in the southern Gazan neighborhood of Rafah on Saturday, according to a statement from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi, and Master Sgt Ori Danino are the hostages, according to the IDF.
Their first assessment, according to spokesman Rear Adm Daniel Hagari, was that they had been “brutally murdered by Hamas terrorists shortly before we reached them”.
Izzat al-Rishq, a top Hamas leader, maintained that Israel was to blame for their killings as it had declined to sign a cease-fire agreement.
Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, declared that his country will not stop until those accountable for their deaths were held accountable.
He added in a statement that his government was dedicated to protecting national security and reaching an agreement to free those still in custody.
“Whoever murders hostages – does not want a deal,” he stated.
Mr. Netanyahu is being called upon to “address the nation and take responsibility for abandoning the hostages” by an organization that represents the relatives of those who are being held captive in Gaza.
According to the Hostages Families Forum, all six of the detained prisoners were “murdered in the last few days, after surviving almost 11 months of abuse, torture, and starvation in Hamas captivity”.
They said in a statement, “The delay in signing the deal has led to their deaths and those of many other hostages.”
In addition, the group has declared its intention to “bring the nation to a halt” on Sunday and is urging the Israeli public to participate in demonstrations in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and other Israeli cities in support of a hostage-exchange agreement.
To increase pressure on the government to reach a settlement, Yair Lapid, one of the most well-known opposition lawmakers in Israel, joined the demands for a nationwide strike.
He said that in order to avoid a confrontation with his far-right allies in the government, Mr. Netanyahu’s “cabinet of death” decided against rescuing the captives.
“He would sooner preserve the alliance between [National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich] than he would save the lives of our children. “They have blood on their heads,” Mr. Lapid continued.
Israeli forces this week freed a Bedouin Arab man from Gaza, and he begged Israel to make peace with Hamas so that all the hostages are released.
Kaid Farhan Elkadi declared that his “happiness is not complete as long as there are detainees” on both sides on Wednesday, following his return to his hamlet in southern Israel.
The IDF declared that the hostages had died and that their remains had been “returned to Israeli territory” in an announcement made early on Sunday morning.
“They were all taken hostage on 7 October [2023] and were murdered by the Hamas terrorist organisation in the Gaza Strip.”
Their families have previously been informed, the statement continued.
The assassination of them, according to Israeli President Isaac Herzog, “shatters the heart of an entire nation to pieces.”
“On behalf of the State of Israel, I embrace their families with all my heart, and apologize for failing to bring them home safely,” he said.
The hostages were slain, according to Sharone Lifschitz, whose father Oded is being detained in Gaza, because negotiations were taking too long.
In addition, she charged that Hamas and the Israeli government were putting “more and more obstacles” in the way of a deal.
Yocheved, the mother of Ms. Lifschitz, was set free during the November 2023 hostage exchange, which saw the release of over 100 captives in return for Israeli-held Palestinian prisoners.
Following the confirmation of Mr. Goldberg-Polin’s death, an American citizen, US President Joe Biden expressed his “devastation and outrage” over the news.
He issued a statement stating that “Hersh was among the innocents brutally attacked while attending a music festival for peace in Israel on 7 October” .
“Helping friends and strangers during Hamas’ brutal massacre, he lost his arm.” It was his 23rd birthday. He intended to take a global tour.
“Jon and Rachel, his parents, are now familiar to me. Even though they have gone through the unthinkable, they have shown courage, wisdom, and steadfastness,” Mr. Biden stated.
The “horrific and senseless killing of six hostages in Gaza by Hamas” shocked UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
“Hamas must release all the hostages now, and a ceasefire deal must be agreed by all sides immediately to end the suffering,” he said in an article on X.
In reaction to the extraordinary onslaught on southern Israel on October 7, which resulted in over 1,200 deaths and the kidnapping of 251 persons, the Israeli military began a campaign in Gaza to eliminate Hamas.
Since then, the health ministry in Gaza, which is governed by Hamas, has reported over 40,738 deaths in the region.
Mediators from the US, Egypt, and Qatar are attempting to mediate a cease-fire agreement that would see Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons exchanged for the 97 hostages that Hamas is now holding, including at least 33 who are thought to be dead.
It occurs as a multi-day polio vaccination campaign spearheaded by the UN is launched in Gaza in response to the potentially fatal virus that was found in wastewater samples earlier this summer.
Israel and Hamas have agreed to three “humanitarian pauses” in the hostilities, starting on Sunday, so that officials can vaccinate about 640,000 children under the age of ten.
The action was taken in response to the discovery last month of the first infection in over 25 years in a 10-month-old Palestinian infant.
