Bodies of 6 Israelis recovered from southern Gaza Strip: Army

ANKARA (AA) – The Israeli army announced on Sunday that the bodies of six individuals who were taken prisoner on Oct. 7 were found and recovered late Saturday from Rafah, a city in the southern Gaza Strip.

The army identified them as Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi, and Master Sergeant Ori Danino.

In a separate development, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum directly criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, holding him accountable for the deaths of the six hostages.

“If it weren’t for the saboteurs, the excuses, and the spin, the hostages whose deaths we learned of this morning would probably be alive,” the forum said in a statement on X. The statement continued, “Netanyahu: enough of the excuses. Enough of the spin. Enough of the abandonment. The time has come to bring our hostages home — those living for rehabilitation and the fallen and murdered for burial in their land.”

For months, diplomatic efforts led by the United States, Qatar, and Egypt have aimed to broker an agreement between Israel and Hamas to facilitate a prisoner exchange and establish a cease-fire. These efforts have also sought to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza. However, negotiations have stalled, largely due to Netanyahu’s refusal to halt the ongoing military campaign.

Israel’s war on Gaza has continued despite a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire. Israel has killed nearly 40,700 Palestinians, with the majority being women and children, and injured over 94,000, according to local health authorities.

The ongoing blockade of Gaza has exacerbated the humanitarian crisis, leading to severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel is currently facing genocide accusations at the International Court of Justice.