Israels Military Says Hostages Were Likely Killed by Hamas as Airstrike Hit
Six Israeli hostages whose bodies were found in Gaza over the summer were probably shot dead by their Hamas captors in February, around the same time that an Israeli airstrike hit near the underground tunnel where they were being held, the Israeli military said on Wednesday.The Israeli military said its investigators could not definitively determine how the six hostages had been killed.But the report could add further fuel to a debate in Israel over whether the country’s military campaign in Gaza is endangering the return of the remaining 100 captives still held there, at least some of whom are presumed dead.Israeli forces recovered the bodies of the six hostages in August in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis.
The bodies bore signs of gunshot wounds.Hamas militants lay dead nearby, apparently asphyxiated by the airstrike, said an Israeli military official who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity to comply with protocol.The official declined to elaborate further.In a statement, the Israeli military said it was “highly probable” that the hostages’ deaths “were related to the strike,” which may have prompted the hostages’ captors to shoot them.
But the Hamas guards’ deaths appeared to raise the possibility that the airstrike might have killed the six hostages either way.The six hostages were mostly older people taken from their homes during the Hamas-led attack on Oct.7, 2023, which triggered the war in Gaza.
They were: Avraham Munder, 79; Haim Peri, 80; Yoram Metzger, 80; and Alexander Dancyg, 75, from the tiny kibbutz of Nir Oz, and Nadav Popplewell, 51; and Yagev Buchshtab, 35, from a nearby community, Nirim.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscribe...