Israeli forces said Tuesday they had retrieved the bodies of six hostages from Gaza during an overnight military operation in the southern city of Khan Younis, as Israel participates in the latest round of cease-fire negotiations this week.
The recovered bodies were identified as Yoram Metzger, 80; Alexander Dancyg, 76; Avraham Munder, 79; Haim Perry, 80; Nadav Popplewell, 51; and Yagev Buchshtab, 35, the Israel Defense Forces and the Israel Security Agency announced in a joint statement. All of them were kidnapped by Hamas on October 7. Munder was the only hostage of the six that had not been previously announced dead by the Israeli military.
There are 109 hostages still being held by Hamas in Gaza, according to the current tally. Thirty-six of the hostages are believed to be dead.
“Tonight our forces returned the bodies of six of our hostages who were held by the murderous terrorist organization Hamas,” Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday. “Our hearts ache for the terrible loss.”
Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant said the bodies were recovered from a “complex operation,” in which the IDF and ISA entered Hamas tunnels, and vowed to retrieve the remaining hostages and root out the terrorist organization.
“We will continue working to achieve the goals of this war — returning the hostages to Israel and dismantling Hamas,” Gallant posted on X.
The news comes as Israel continues its cease-fire talks with Hamas. On Monday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Israel agreed to a U.S.-backed “bridging proposal” that would pause the fighting in Gaza. In the same breath, he urged Hamas to accept the deal.
“The next important statement is for Hamas to say yes, and then, in the coming days, for all of the expert negotiators to get together to work on clear understandings on implementing the agreement,” Blinken said in Tel Aviv during his ninth diplomatic trip to Israel.
Blinken met with Israeli president Isaac Herzog and Netanyahu as part of his diplomatic efforts on behalf of the Biden administration, which has been pushing a cease-fire proposal for months.
While Netanyahu reportedly told Blinken that he’s committed to reaching a cease-fire deal, he rebuffed his negotiators when they asked for greater latitude to make concessions over the weekend, Axios reported. Some Israeli officials were baffled by Blinken’s subsequent announcement that Israel had agreed to a deal.
Mediated by the U.S., Egypt, and Qatar, the renewed negotiations are being held in Cairo this week after the last round of talks failed over the weekend. Hamas rejected that cease-fire proposal, blaming Netanyahu for “obstructing” a deal.
While it has not yet been ratified, one version of an amended deal would allow Israel to keep troops stationed in Gaza, one of Netanyahu’s demands that Hamas is not keen to accept. The proposal as it stands would allow Israel to retain control of the Rafah border crossing and Philadelphi Corridor along the Gaza-Egypt border, as well as the Netzarim Corridor, which separates the north from the south in the Palestinian enclave.
Hamas accused the U.S. of “merely buying time for Israel to continue its genocide” by proposing an amended agreement.
“The Israelis have retreated from issues included in Biden’s proposal. Netanyahu’s talk about agreeing to an updated proposal indicates that the U.S. administration has failed to convince him to accept the previous agreement,” a Hamas spokesman said Monday.
As he was leaving the Democratic National Convention in Chicago after his late-night speech, President Joe Biden said Hamas was “backing away” from the deal that Israel agreed upon.
“It’s still in play, but you can’t predict,” he said Tuesday. “Israel says they can work it out. . . . Hamas is now backing away.”