Israeli army says it has recovered and identified the bodies of six hostages in the Gaza Strip

The Israeli army announced on Sunday, September 1, that it had identified the bodies of six hostages brought back from Gaza to Israel, including two women and four men, including an Israeli-American and an Israeli-Russian. In a statement, the IDF announced that it had “recovered Bodies of hostages Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi and Ori Danino in a tunnel in the Rafah area”.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says the six hostages whose remains were returned were alive when they were abducted and afterward “killed in cold blood by Hamas”Evidence of life had emerged for these hostages, including a video showing Hersh Goldberg-Polin in April shot by his captors.

Five of them – aged 23 to 32 – were abducted from the Nova techno music festival by Hamas commandos in the deadly attack on October 7. Of the 251 people abducted that day, 97 are still being held in Gaza, including 33 declared dead by the army. The United States, Qatar and Egypt are still trying to secure a ceasefire agreement and the release of hostages in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

So far, no end seems in sight as the war will soon enter its twelfth month. “A deal for the return of the hostages has been on the table for two months. Without the delays, sabotage and pretexts, those whose deaths we learned of this morning would certainly still be alive.”reacted the families of the hostages.