Six hostages’ bodies retrieved, Israel’s military says

During the operation, the IDF said its forces located a 10m (33ft) deep tunnel shaft which led to an “underground tunnel route”, inside which the bodies were found. The six men were all kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz and Kibbutz Nirim, near Israel’s border fence with Gaza, during Hamas’s attacks on southern Israel on 7 October. In June, Israel confirmed the deaths of Mr Popplewell, 51, Mr Peri, 79, and Mr Metzger, 80. In July, the IDF also confirmed the deaths of Mr Buchshtab, 35, and Mr Dancyg, 76, stating an investigation was being carried out into how they died. Israeli media, citing military sources, reported at the time there was a “high probability” that at least one of the men was killed by Israeli fire. Mati Dancyg, Alexander Dancyg’s son, said on Tuesday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government had chosen to “abandon the hostages in order to survive”. Karma will judge him and he will pay for it, big time,” he told Israeli public broadcaster Kan. Government estimates suggest there are 105 hostages remaining in Gaza, 71 of whom are thought to be alive. An additional four hostages were already in Gaza prior to 7 October, two of whom are believed to be dead. Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said in a statement the bodies were retrieved after a “complex operation”, adding that Israel would keep working on “dismantling Hamas”. In a statement, the Hostage Families Forum said the recovery of the bodies had provided the families with “necessary closure”, adding that the return of the remaining hostages from Gaza “can only be achieved through a negotiated deal”. Negotiations over a long-sought-after ceasefire and hostage release deal are ongoing, with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arriving in Egypt on Tuesday to discuss a potential deal with Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi. On Monday, Mr Blinken said Mr Netanyahu had agreed to a US “bridging proposal” for a deal, after the pair met in Jerusalem. The IDF said on Monday that it had expanded its operation in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, and the outskirts of the central town of Deir al-Balah. Five people were killed in an Israeli air strike on an internet distribution facility in western Khan Younis on Monday, according to local health officials. Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza in response to an unprecedented attack on southern Israel on 7 October by Hamas gunmen, during which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage. More than 40,173 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry. – This Summarize was created by Neural News AI (V1). Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c23lgy1k22zo