Israel Palestine Conflict: In the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, Hamas killed 6 Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) recovered the bodies of six dead hostages from the Gaza Strip. After this, anger erupted in Israel and protests began. According to the Health Ministry, the hostages were killed 48 to 72 hours before their post-mortem.
The Abu Kabir Forensic Institute, which conducted the autopsies, revealed that they had been shot multiple times at close range, Hindustan Times reported. In a press conference, IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said that Hamas terrorists “brutally murdered” the hostages and their bodies were found by soldiers in the Rafah tunnel on Saturday afternoon.
Hamas blames Netanyahu
Contrary to the IDF statement, Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya has blamed Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu for the hostages’ death. In an interview with Al Jazeera, al-Hayya said, “Netanyahu and his extremist government are the reason for the hostages’ death.”
Without providing any evidence to support his claims, he said the Israelis “attacked those who were sitting with them, guarding them and living with them.” Of the 251 people captured by Hamas on 7 October, 97 are believed to still be in Gaza, while the IDF has so far confirmed the deaths of 33 people.
Protests in Israel, national strike announced
Protesters took to the streets in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and other cities on Sunday to mourn the dead of their loved ones, expressing their anger at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his administration for failing to negotiate the release of hostages taken by Hamas during the October 7 attacks.
Meanwhile, Histadrut labor union leader Arnon Bar-David announced a national strike on Monday in an effort to pressure the government to reach a ceasefire agreement. CNN’s report quoted American and Israeli officials as saying that some of the dead hostages would be released as part of the final ceasefire agreement.
Who are the killed hostages?
The deceased were identified as Carmel Gat (39), Alexander Lobanov (32), Almog Sarusi (26), Ori Danino (25), Eden Yerushalmi (24) and Hersh Goldberg-Polin (23). Five of the six hostages were captured from the music festival and the sixth was abducted from a nearby kibbutz.
American-Israeli Hersh Goldberg-Polin attended the Nova music festival in southern Israel. When Hamas launched an attack, he took refuge in a bomb bunker with three of his friends. According to CNN, Hamas threw grenades into the bunker and Goldberg-Polin tried to remove them, blowing off his hand. When the firing subsided, he was taken prisoner by Hamas.
Almog Sarusi was a music producer from Raanana, Israel. His fiancée Shahar Gindi was also with him at the Novel Festival. When the two tried to escape, Gindi was shot and seriously injured. However, Gindi later died and Hamas men took Sarusi with them.
32-year-old Israeli-Russian Alexander Lobanov was the main bartender at the festival. The family said he and five others were hiding in an olive grove before being caught.
Carmel Gat, a 39-year-old therapist, had recently returned to Israel from India. She and her family members were kidnapped from their ancestral home in Birei Kibbutz. Gat’s mother died in Hamas bombings and her sister-in-law Yarden Roman-Gat was also kidnapped and later released in November.
Eden Yerushalmi, 24, was a bartender at the Nova Festival. According to her sister Shani, she called her family on 7 October, screaming that she was scared and that she had seen armed men attacking the festival. She failed in her attempts to hide and escape, and her last words before being taken to Gaza were: “Shani, they found me.”
25-year-old soldier Ori Danino was kidnapped by Hamas when he went to the Nova Festival to rescue his friends Omer Shemtov, Maya and Itay Regev who had been taken captive there.
