The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) recovered the bodies of six Israeli hostages from a tunnel in Rafah on September 1. According to Israeli security sources, Hamas executed the hostages two to three days before they were found.
An IDF spokesperson stated that the hostages were killed by Hamas guards “shortly before IDF forces reached them.”
Read: Family Of Israeli-American Hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin Confirms His Death In Gaza
The Israeli forces did not encounter any Palestinian fighters inside or near the tunnels during the operation to discover and recover the hostages. The hostages were located just one kilometer from where Israeli forces had rescued another hostage, Farhan al Qadi, on August 27.
Hamas responded by blaming Israel for the deaths, claiming that Israel’s failure to agree to a ceasefire ultimately led to the killings.
However, Hamas did not deny responsibility for executing the hostages.
Read: Israel Agrees To Temporary Humanitarian Pause In Gaza For Polio Vaccinations
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Hamas of refusing all offers for a ceasefire-hostage deal and stated that the execution of the hostages showed Hamas had no interest in reaching an agreement.
Israeli security sources told Israeli Army Radio that three of the hostages were supposed to be released in the first stage of a proposed ceasefire-hostage deal. Following the discovery of the executed hostages,
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant criticized the Israeli political-security cabinet’s decision to support Netanyahu’s proposal to maintain an IDF presence on the Philadelphi Corridor—a key obstacle in the ceasefire-hostage negotiations.
Read: Alan Dershowitz: Israel’s Preemptive Attack On Hezbollah Might Have Prevented A Wider War
The hostages were likely executed around the time the security cabinet approved this decision on August 29.
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