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, one Israeli-American and one Israeli-Russian.
“The Army and the Shin Bet”Israeli domestic intelligence, “located (on Saturday) and recovered the bodies of hostages Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi and Ori Danino from a tunnel in the Rafah area”in the southern Gaza Strip, the army announced in a statement.
251 people kidnapped
Five of them – aged 23 to 32 – were abducted at the Nova techno music festival by Hamas commandos during the deadly attack on October 7. The attack resulted in the deaths of a total of 1,205 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official data. Of the 251 people abducted that day, 97 are still being held in Gaza, including 33 declared dead by the army.
Israeli reprisals in Gaza have left at least 40,691 dead, according to the Hamas government’s health ministry, and caused a humanitarian and health disaster in the besieged territory. The majority of the dead are women and minors, according to the UN.
“Killed in cold blood by Hamas”
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says the six hostages whose bodies were returned were alive when they were taken and then “killed in cold blood by Hamas.” Evidence of life had emerged for the hostages, including a video of Hersh Goldberg-Polin in April shot by his captors.
The United States, Qatar and Egypt are still trying to hammer out a deal for a ceasefire and the release of hostages in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. So far, no end seems in sight as the war nears its twelfth month.
