Grief, anger in Israel after recovery of 6 dead hostages in Gaza
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The bodies of (clockwise from top left) Mr Almog Sarusi, Mr Alexander Lobanov, Ms Carmel Gat, Mr Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Ms Eden Yerushalmi and Mr Ori Danino were found in a tunnel in southern Gaza.
PHOTO: AFP
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JERUSALEM - The Israeli military has recovered the bodies of six hostages from a tunnel in southern Gaza where they were “brutally murdered” by Hamas.
The news on Sept 1 set off a wave of nationwide grief mixed with anger in Israel, as well as a new call from the country’s top defence official for a ceasefire deal.
“According to our initial estimation, they were brutally murdered by Hamas terrorists a short time before we reached them,” Rear-Admiral Daniel Hagari, the military’s chief spokesman, told reporters.
The bodies of Ms Carmel Gat, Mr Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Ms Eden Yerushalmi, Mr Alexander Lobanov, Mr Almog Sarusi and Mr Ori Danino were found in a tunnel underneath the city of Rafah, close to where a seventh hostage, Mr Farhan al-Qadi, was found alive last week.
Five of those captured had been at a dance music festival in southern Israel. The sixth, Ms Gat, was taken from the nearby village of Be’eri.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was “shocked to the depths” of his soul by what he called the “cold-blooded murder” of the hostages.
“The heart of the entire nation is torn,” he said in a statement.
Mr Netanyahu said Israel would not rest until it caught those responsible.
Hamas said Israel, in its refusal to sign a ceasefire agreement, was to blame for the deaths.
“Netanyahu is responsible for the killing of Israeli prisoners,” senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters. “The Israelis should choose between Netanyahu and the deal.”
The six were among about 250 hostages taken in Hamas’ killing spree through southern Israel
Their deaths leave 101 Israeli and foreign hostages still in Gaza, but around a third of these are known to have died, with the fate of the others unknown.
The news on Sept 1 is likely to spur further protests by Israelis demanding a hostage release deal.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid called for a strike to shut down the Israeli economy in order to pressure the government to reach a deal to bring the remaining hostages home from Gaza.
Pressure is also coming from Mr Netanyahu’s own Cabinet.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant urged Mr Netanyahu to ease back on a hardline position that has made it nearly impossible to conclude a ceasefire deal with Hamas.
“It’s too late for the abductees who were murdered in cold blood. The abductees who remain in the captivity of Hamas must be returned home,” he said on social media platform X.
Israeli media reported that Mr Gallant confronted Mr Netanyahu angrily during the Cabinet meeting on Aug 29 over a decision by his Cabinet to keep troops in the so-called Philadelphi Corridor, along the southern edge of Gaza.
Mr Netanyahu’s insistence on keeping troops in the corridor to prevent Hamas from smuggling weapons in from Egypt has been widely seen as one of the major obstacles to an agreement with Hamas in talks brokered by Egypt and Qatar.
The Hostage Families Forum called on Mr Netanyahu to take responsibility and explain what was holding up an agreement.
“They were all murdered in the last few days, after surviving almost 11 months of abuse, torture and starvation in Hamas captivity. The delay in signing the deal has led to their deaths and those of many other hostages,” it said.
“For 11 months, the government of Israel led by Netanyahu failed to do what is expected of a government – to bring its sons and daughters home,” the group said. “Netanyahu: Enough of the excuses. Enough of the spin. Enough of the abandonment.”
US President Joe Biden, who has closely followed the fate of the hostages, said the six hostages killed included an Israeli-American, Mr Goldberg-Polin.
“I am devastated and outraged,” Mr Biden said in a statement issued by the White House.
Mr Goldberg-Polin appeared in a video
Mr Biden said: “He had just turned 23. He planned to travel the world.”
His parents, Ms Rachel Goldberg and Mr Jon Polin “have been courageous, wise, and steadfast, even as they have endured the unimaginable”, he added.
“They have been relentless and irrepressible champions of their son and of all the hostages held in unconscionable conditions. I admire them and grieve with them more deeply than words can express,” said Mr Biden.
Mr Biden vowed that “Hamas leaders will pay for these crimes, and we will keep working round the clock for a deal to secure the release of the remaining hostages”.
US Vice-President Kamala Harris said in a statement: “I strongly condemn Hamas’ continued brutality, and so must the entire world.”
Ms Harris, the Democratic candidate running to succeed Mr Biden, said she and Mr Biden would never waver in their commitment to free the Americans and all those held hostage in Gaza.
Earlier, speaking to reporters in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, Mr Biden said he was still optimistic about a ceasefire deal to stop the conflict. “I think we’re on the verge of having an agreement,” he said. “It’s time this war ended.” He added that “people are continuing to meet”. “We think we can close the deal, they’ve all said they agree on the principles.” REUTERS
