Israel has said that its military has retrieved the bodies of six captives from a tunnel in southern Gaza, including a national of the United States, as the country has sustained intensive military campaigns in Gaza for many days now. This announcement comes as the Palestinian enclave is destroyed, with more than 40,000 Palestinians dead since the October 7 attack by Israel in retaliation for a Hamas attack.
The military stated that the remains were found in the Rafah area and brought back to Israel for identification, indicating that the captives were killed before their bodies were recovered. They were Almog Sarusi, Alex Lobanov, Carmel Gat, Ori Danino, Eden Yerushalmi, and Hersh Goldberg Polin.
Families of the captives have criticized the ruling Premier, Benjamin Netanyahu, on how he has managed the issue, calling for a protest involving thousands of people specifically for a protest demanding that their nation come to a standstill to demand a ceasefire and for the release of the remaining hostages. Hostages and Missing Families Forum said that the hostage exchange deal had been offered for more than two months, and thus, the delays probably cost lives.
Hamas party bigwigs have accused Israel of killing civilians through bombardments, which they strongly resent and condemn U. S support for Israel in such war. Subsequently, Prime Minister Netanyahu pledged to retaliate against Hamas, stating that those perpetrators who kill hostages are not interested in ceasing the conflict.
U. S President Joe Biden termed the deaths as tragic while vowing that ‘Hamas leaders will pay for this crime.’ Negotiations are still going on to release about a hundred more captives despite these continued attacks; Hamas has insisted that the captives’ release will depend on a ceasefire agreement.
The conflict is clearly evident as different parties and organizations have accused Israeli leaders, such as Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, of war crimes alongside the Hamas leaders for whom the International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants.
