The Israeli army said it found several bodies in Gaza, which it identified as those of six hostages seized by Hamas during the October 7 raid on a rave.The bodies, found underground in the southern Strip, in “a tunnel in the Farah area”, were later identified as two women and four men.
“The army and Shin Bet located and recovered the bodies of hostages Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi and Ori Danino,” the IDF said in a press release. Five of them were kidnapped from the Nova techno music festival by Hamas commandos during the October 7 attack. The six hostages rescued in Rafah were “brutally murdered” by Hamas shortly before the troops arrived, IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said, according to the Times of Israel.
“According to an initial assessment… They were brutally murdered by Hamas terrorists shortly before we reached them. They were kidnapped alive on the morning of October 7. Their bodies were found during fighting in Rafah, in a tunnel, about a kilometer away from the one from which we rescued Farhan al-Qadi a few days ago,” he said at a press conference.
“Since Farhan was found, the troops have been given more emphasis on operating cautiously than usual, because we knew there could be more hostages in the area. We had no information about the exact location,” Hagari said. “The soldiers fought the Hamas terrorists on the surface in the area where the tunnel was located,” the spokesman added.
According to a security source telling Army Radio, cited by the Times of Israel, three of the hostages whose bodies were recovered in the Gaza Strip were on the “humanitarian” list of prisoners and were to be released in the first phase of a proposed hostage deal. “The number of hostages who are eligible for release in the first phase of a proposed deal — women, men over 50 and hostages with serious medical conditions — is decreasing,” the source said.
Who were the hostages found dead?
Alex Lobanov33, was kidnapped at the Nova festival, where he worked as a bar manager. He leaves behind his wife Michal and sons Tom, 2, and a baby born in captivity. Alex also had Russian citizenship.
Almog Sarusi27, was also at the Nova festival. He had stayed at the party to take care of his partner, Shachar Gindi, who had been injured by terrorists before being killed.
Hersh Goldberg Polin23, was taken from Nova, was there with friends and hid in a shelter, where one of his friends, Aner Shapira, was murdered. In late April, Hamas released a video of Goldberg-Polin showing his arm amputated below the elbow, after he was wounded on October 7. He was also an American citizen.
Eden Yerushalmi24 years old, was at the festival where she worked as a bartender, her photo, beautiful, with long hair, is everywhere in Tel Aviv.
Ori Danino25, was kidnapped at the rave.
Carmel Cat39, from Kibbutz Beeri, worked as a therapist, it is known that she had been in India for a period and had returned to Israel on October 1, a week before she was abducted.
Five of the six hostages whose bodies were recovered were kidnapped by Hamas on October 7 at the Nova festival. After the bodies were recovered, 97 of the 251 hostages remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 33 confirmed dead by the IDF.
In late November, during a week-long truce, Hamas released 105 civilians, and four hostages had been released before that. Eight hostages were rescued alive by the army, which also recovered the bodies of 37 hostages, including three who were killed by mistake by the Israeli military while trying to escape their captors. Hamas also holds two Israeli civilians who entered the Strip in 2014 and 2015, as well as the bodies of two IDF soldiers killed in 2014.
Netanyahu: ‘Hamas refuses to negotiate, kills hostages’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a recorded statement after six bodies of hostages were found in Gaza. “Hamas refuses to negotiate. Those who kill hostages do not want a deal,” he said. Relatives of the hostages had asked the prime minister to speak publicly. “We are in a difficult day. The hearts of the entire nation are torn. Along with all the citizens of Israel, I was shocked to the depths of my soul by the terrible cold-blooded murder of six of our hostages. Along with the entire nation, my wife and I share the families’ heavy grief. We are all mourning with them,” Netanyahu said.
Herzog: “I ask for forgiveness”. Gantz: “Netanyahu should call the families”
“The heart of an entire nation has been torn to pieces,” Israeli President Isaac Herzog said after the bodies of six hostages killed in Gaza were found. “On behalf of the entire State of Israel, I hold their families in my heart and ask for forgiveness. Forgiveness for not being able to bring your loved ones home safely,” he said. According to Herzog, the killing of the hostages demonstrates Hamas’ readiness to commit crimes against humanity, adding that the “sacred goal of the country was to bring them home.” Former Defense Minister Benny Gantz, for his part, urged Prime Minister Netanyahu to immediately call the families of the six Israeli hostages whose bodies were found in Gaza.
“Prime Minister, this is a painful morning for all the people of Israel, but especially for six families. Farhan al-Qadi, who was released, called you immediately, and for Noa Argamani he also came to the hospital,” Gantz tweeted. “Call the six families of the murdered hostages immediately and talk to them. This is the least they deserve. Don’t wait even a minute” https://gazzettadelsud.it/articoli/mondo/2024/09/01/medio-oriente-trovati-e-identificati-i-corpi-di-6-ostaggi-a-gaza-brutalmente-assassinati-poco-prima-del-nostro-arrivo-76b9579a-44f2-43b5-9ad1-2d337d517480/ “Two hours have passed since the names of the murdered hostages were published and the fact that the president of the world’s largest power issued a message of condolences and the prime minister of Israel has not tweeted a word on the matter only shows that Benyamin Netanyahu is running away from responsibility,” tweeted Yisrael Beytenu MK Oded Forer, adding to the chorus of criticism against Netanyahu.
The families of the kidnapped: “Israel will tremble”
“Starting tomorrow, the country will tremble. We ask people to prepare. Israel will stop. Netanyahu has abandoned the hostages. Now it is a fact. The abandonment is over.” This is the dramatic statement of the Forum of the families of the hostages immediately after learning that the IDF has found several bodies in Gaza that could be kidnapped people. The relatives explained that tomorrow they will give details of the large protests that will take place in the country.
The Forum calls on Netanyahu to take responsibility for abandoning the hostages after the six bodies were recovered in the Strip. The prime minister has not yet commented on the discovery. His office only announced that it had canceled Netanyahu’s participation in the opening of the school year at a Jerusalem elementary school. The Forum says the hostage deaths are a “direct result” of the prime minister’s “torpedoing” of the proposed hostage deal and his demand to maintain an IDF presence in the Philadelphia Corridor. “In recent months, eight hostages have been rescued alive in military operations, compared to 105 hostages released in the November deal,” the statement read.
Last night, the sister of a Hamas-held hostage who was attending a protest in Tel Aviv by the hostages’ relatives was injured by a police officer on horseback during clashes in the square, in which police arrested two protesters. In a video circulating on social media, a horse ridden by a riot police officer can be seen running over the girl who has fallen to the ground, almost trampling her.
According to media reports, including the Times of Israel, the injured girl is Natalie Atedgi, sister of Matan Zangauker, a hostage of Hamas terrorists, and was taken to the hospital. The girl’s mother, Einav Zangauker, accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of “murdering the hostages” by “sabotaging” the possible agreement with Hamas.
Lapid: “Netanyahu is not interested in hostages, only power”
According to Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid, “our sons and daughters are dying in captivity and Netanyahu is busy beating around the bush. He is not interested in the Philadelphia axis or polio vaccines, but only in the coalition and in holding on to Smotrich and Ben Gvir. “He is crushing the families and people of Israel along the way. We will continue to stand by the families of the hostages, to embrace them and protect them in these difficult times.” Lapid wrote on his X account.
The deaths of the six hostages are “heartbreaking for the entire country, except for those who lead it,” wrote the opposition leader, who accused the government of “burying prisoners” after the IDF found six of them murdered in a tunnel in Gaza.
“Instead of making a deal, they are playing politics; instead of saving lives, they are burying the hostages. Instead of doing everything to bring them home, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is doing everything to stay in power. The government of disasters is burying the State of Israel,” Lapid writes in X.
Biden: “Hamas leaders will pay for these crimes”
One of the hostages whose lifeless body was found is the Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, this was confirmed by
President Joe Biden, saying he was “devastated and outraged” by the news. “In a tunnel under the city of Rafah, Israeli forces recovered six bodies of hostages. Hamas leaders will pay
for these crimes. And we will continue to work around the clock to reach an agreement that will secure the release of the others” kidnapped, the American leader said.
The 23-year-old “Hersh was among the innocent people brutally attacked while attending a peace music festival in Israel. He lost an arm while helping friends and strangers during the vicious massacre” by the Palestinian Islamist movement, Biden explained. Addressing the young man’s parents, Jon and Rachel, who “tirelessly and irrepressibly defended their son and all the hostages held in unacceptable conditions”, the American president said he “admires them” and “shares their pain more deeply than words can express”. Biden assured that he had “worked tirelessly to ensure that their beloved Hersh reached them safely”.