Israel says it recovered bodies of 6 hostages in Gaza

JERUSALEM — Israeli forces recovered the bodies of six Israeli hostages from the southern Gaza Strip in an overnight operation, the Israeli military said Tuesday. Five of the six were previously known to have lost their lives.

Of the roughly 250 people Israeli authorities say were taken hostage during the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attack, Israeli forces have so far rescued only seven hostages alive. Scores of others, mostly women and children, were returned to Israel during a weeklong cease-fire in November. More than 100 captives still remain in Gaza, at least 30 of whom are believed to be dead.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the six bodies had been retrieved from Hamas tunnels beneath the city of Khan Younis in a “complex operation,” and the military released their names.

Avraham Munder, 79, was the only hostage among the six whose deaths had not been established. He was abducted from Nir Oz, a kibbutz, or communal village, near the Gaza border, along with three of the others: Haim Peri, 80; Yoram Metzger, 80; and Alexander Dancyg, 75. The remaining two, Nadav Popplewell, 51; and Yagev Buchshtab, 35, were taken from another border community, Nirim.

The exact circumstances of their deaths were not immediately clear. Abu Ubaida, a spokesperson for Hamas’ military wing, said in March that Metzger and Peri were among seven hostages who had been killed in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza. Hamas then said in May that Popplewell had died from injuries sustained in an Israeli airstrike more than a month before.

On Tuesday, the Israeli military said the operation to extricate the six bodies came after prolonged combat in a built-up area. The military said Israeli forces found a 30-foot-deep tunnel shaft that led to an underground route.

The military said Israeli forces scanned the route and noticed that part of the tunnel’s concrete lining was loose. When soldiers removed the lining, they discovered a hidden branch of the tunnel network and found the bodies.

The retrieval of the bodies came as Secretary of State Antony Blinken continued a diplomatic push in the region for a cease-fire deal that would see hostages released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.