Israel Confirms Death of Six Hostages in Gaza — RT World News

According to the Israel Defense Forces, the captives were killed shortly before they were discovered in the tunnel.

The bodies of six hostages taken by Hamas militants on October 7 have been recovered from a tunnel in the southern Gaza region of Rafah, the Israeli military said on Sunday. All the victims have been named.

According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, Eden Yerushalmi, 24, Ori Danino, 25, Alex Lubnov, 32, Carmel Gat, 40, and Almog Sarusi, 25, were killed by Hamas militants shortly before they were found by the military.

Alex Lubnov (known in Russian media as Alexander Lobanov) had dual Russian-Israeli citizenship. According to the Hostage Families Forum, an organization representing relatives of captives, he lived in Ashkelon, was married, and had two children. He was reportedly kidnapped from the NOVA music festival, where he worked as a bar manager.

The news of the recovery has sparked calls “mass demonstration” from the Hostage Families Forum, which has criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for failing to reach an agreement with Hamas on a “hostages for peace” deal that had been discussed for months. He demanded “a complete shutdown of the country and immediate implementation of a deal to free the hostages.”

Tensions between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip flared when the Palestinian militant group launched a surprise invasion of southern Israel ten months ago, killing about 1,100 people and taking more than 200 hostages. Some were later freed in prisoner swaps or rescued by the Israeli army. Israel's massive military response has killed nearly 40,700 people and injured 94,060, according to Palestinian health officials.

Negotiations for a ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners have been ongoing for months, brokered by Qatar, the United States and Egypt. Last month, Hamas rejected a renewed U.S. offer for the release of hostages and a ceasefire, accusing Netanyahu of sabotaging the talks and Washington of supporting him. Israel said it could not accept Hamas's demand that the war in Gaza end as a condition for a deal.

Last week, Reuters reported that Egypt was hosting US and Israeli delegations for another round of talks on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

According to Israel, 251 Israelis and foreigners were captured in the October 7 raid, and 103 of them are still being held in Gaza.

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