Israel says its forces have recovered the bodies of six hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the bodies were located on Saturday in an underground tunnel in the Rafah area of southern Gaza.
The IDF named the hostages as Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi and Master Sgt Ori Danino.
Spokesman Rear Adm Daniel Hagari said an initial assessment was they were “brutally murdered by Hamas terrorists shortly before we reached them”.
A senior Hamas official, Izzat al-Rishq, insisted Israel was responsible for their deaths, as it has refused to sign a ceasefire deal.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would not rest until those responsible for their killing are brought to justice.
In a statement, he also said his government was committed to achieving a deal to release those remaining in captivity and protects the country’s security.
“Whoever murders hostages – does not want a deal,” he added.
A group representing the families of those held hostage in Gaza has demanded that Mr Netanyahu “address the nation and take responsibility for abandoning the hostages”.
The Hostages Families Forum said that all six held captive were “murdered in the last few days, after surviving almost 11 months of abuse, torture, and starvation in Hamas captivity”.
“The delay in signing the deal has led to their deaths and those of many other hostages,” they added in a statement.
The group has also announced plans to “bring the nation to a halt” on Sunday, asking the Israeli public to join protests in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and elsewhere in Israel to call for a hostage exchange deal.
One of Israel’s most prominent opposition politicians, Yair Lapid, joined the calls for a general strike to put renewed pressure on the government to agree a deal.
He accused Mr Netanyahu’s “cabinet of death” of deciding against saving the hostages to avoid conflict with his far-right allies in government.
“He prefers saving the coalition with [Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich] and [National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir], rather than saving our children’s lives. This blood is on their heads”, Mr Lapid added.
A Bedouin Arab man rescued in Gaza last week by Israeli troops urged Israel to reach a deal with Hamas to free all the remaining hostages.
After returning to his village in southern Israel on Wednesday, Kaid Farhan Elkadi said his “happiness is not complete as long as there are detainees” on both sides.
In its statement on Sunday morning announcing the deaths of the hostages, the IDF said the bodies had been “returned to Israeli territory”.
“They were all taken hostage on 7 October [2023] and were murdered by the Hamas terrorist organisation in the Gaza Strip.”
The statement added that their families had already been notified.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog said the “heart of an entire nation is shattered to pieces with the news” of their killing.
“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 added.
Sharone Lifschitz, whose father Oded is being held in Gaza, said the hostages were killed because of delays in getting a deal
She also accused the Israeli government and Hamas of placing “more and more obstacles” in the way of reaching an agreement.
Ms Lifschitz’s mother Yocheved was released in the November 2023 hostage exchange, in which more than 100 people were freed in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
Meanwhile, after the death of Mr Goldberg-Polin – an American citizen – was confirmed, US President Joe Biden said he was “devastated and outraged” by the news.
He said in a statement that “Hersh was among the innocents brutally attacked while attending a music festival for peace in Israel on 7 October”.
“He lost his arm helping friends and strangers during Hamas’ savage massacre. He had just turned 23. He planned to travel the world.
“I have gotten to know his parents, Jon and Rachel. They have been courageous, wise, and steadfast, even as they have endured the unimaginable,” Mr Biden said.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer expressed shock at the “horrific and senseless killing of six hostages in Gaza by Hamas”.
“Hamas must release all the hostages now, and a ceasefire deal must be agreed by all sides immediately to end the suffering,” he added in a post on X.
The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza to destroy Hamas in response to the unprecedented attack on southern Israel on 7 October, during which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.
More than 40,738 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
US, Egyptian and Qatari mediators are trying to broker a ceasefire deal that would see Hamas release the 97 hostages still being held – including at least 33 who are presumed dead – in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
It comes as a UN-led multi-day polio vaccination campaign gets under way in Gaza, following the discovery of the potentially deadly virus in wastewater samples earlier this summer.
Three “humanitarian pauses” in the fighting – beginning on Sunday – have been agreed between Israel and Hamas so that officials can vaccinate around 640,000 children under the age of 10
The move comes after the first infection in more than 25 years was detected in a 10-month-old Palestinian child last month. (BBC)
