Israeli army identifies bodies of 6 Gaza hostages

The Israeli military identified the bodies of six hostages in a tunnel in the Gaza strip. They said that the captives had been killed by militants right before they were recovered by the troops.

The army identified the hostages as - Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23; Ori Danino, 25; Eden Yerushalmi, 24; Almog Sarusi, 27; and Alexander Lobanov, 33; all of whom were abducted from a music festival during Hamas' October 7 attack.

The sixth, Carmel Gat, 40, was abducted from the nearby farming community of Be'eri.

Also Read: Israel and Hamas fail to agree on ceasefire in Cairo; process to continue

On Sunday, rear admiral Daniel Hagari, a spokesperson for the Israeli military said that “they were cruelly murdered shortly before we were to rescue them.”

Also Read: Biden ‘closely monitoring events in Israel and Lebanon,’ White House says: ‘At his direction, senior US officials have…’

Militant group Hamas did not respond to these accusations.

At least 40,691 Palestinians have been killed and 94,060 injured in Israel's military offensive in Gaza since Oct. 7, the Hamas-run health ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

Also Read: Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin's family announces his death: ‘Devastated’

US president Joe Biden also commented on the matter: "Hamas leaders will pay for these crimes. And we will keep working around the clock for a deal to secure the release of the remaining hostages."

Vice president Kamala Harris echoed his sentiment and said, “I strongly condemn Hamas’ continued brutality, and so must the entire world.”

Although the Israeli military has levelled these claims against Hamas, and relations have been deteriorating after conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, Biden remains optimistic about a ceasefire.

"I think we're on the verge of having an agreement," he said, according to Reuters. "It's time this war ended."

Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.