The Israeli military said Tuesday it had recovered the bodies of six hostages captured in Hamas’s Oct. 7 cross-border attack that sparked the war in Gaza.
The Israeli operation coincided with efforts by the United States, Egypt and Qatar to broker a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas that would result in the release of dozens of hostages still held by the militant group.
The army said in a statement that its forces recovered the bodies during a nighttime operation in the southern Gaza Strip. The statement identified the hostages as Yagev Buchshtab, Alexander Dancyg, Avraham Munder, Yoram Metzger, Nadav Popplewell and Haim Perry, but did not say how or when they died.
Five of the hostages were over 50 when they were captured, and three had relatives who were released during a week-long truce in November.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the operation, saying “our hearts ache for the terrible loss.”
“The State of Israel will continue to do everything possible to secure the return of all our hostages, both living and dead,” it said in a statement.
Hamas is believed to still be holding around 110 captives. Israeli authorities estimate that around a third are dead.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, on his ninth visit to the region since the start of the war, said Monday that Netanyahu had accepted the proposal to bridge differences in ceasefire talks and called on Hamas to do the same.
Hamas has accused the United States of agreeing to Israeli demands and trying to impose them on the militant group.
Hamas-led insurgents overcame Israeli defenses on Oct. 7 and stormed into the south of the country, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 250 others hostage. During a temporary truce in November, more than 100 hostages were released in exchange for Palestinians jailed in Israel.
The Israeli offensive has claimed the lives of more than 40,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. The army’s air and ground operations have caused widespread destruction and forced the vast majority of the Strip’s 2.3 million residents to flee their homes.
Mediators are trying to hammer out a three-phase plan under which Hamas would release the remaining hostages in exchange for a lasting ceasefire, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and the release of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. But differences between the two sides appear to remain wide.
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