War in Gaza led to deaths of more than 3 dozen hostages, say officials
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Relatives and supporters of Israelis held hostage in the Gaza Strip at a rally calling on the government for a deal that would bring all the remaining captives back.
PHOTO: AFP
Natan Odenheimer, Ronen Bergman and Gabby Sobelman
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JERUSALEM – Mr Itay Svirsky, 40, was a therapist who loved philosophy. Ms Eden Yerushalmi, 24, was training to become a Pilates instructor. Mr Alex Lobanov, 32, a father of three, never met his youngest child.
They are among the 41 hostages killed since being taken captive by Hamas and its allies during their Oct 7, 2023, attack on Israel, according to an analysis by The New York Times of forensic reports and military investigations into their deaths, as well as interviews with more than a dozen Israeli soldiers and officials, a senior regional official and seven relatives of hostages.
Some were killed by Hamas, some by Israeli fire;
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long contended that only military force could compel Hamas to free the hostages. His opponents argued that the longer the war, the likelier that the hostages would be executed by Hamas or killed in Israeli strikes.
The debate has gained more resonance in recent days as the country faces the prospect of returning to war since the lapse of the recent truce.
Of the 59 hostages still believed to be held in the Gaza Strip, the Israel government has said that only 24 are alive.
A few hostages were almost certainly killed in the first days of the war, before it was possible to seal a truce, according to two Israeli officials. But many others have died since a brief first ceasefire collapsed in November 2023 and the fighting continued in a war that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians.
The Israeli military declined to comment on the specific circumstances in which the hostages were killed but said in a statement that it had carried out operations with numerous precautions taken to protect the captives.
Seven hostages were executed by their captors as Israeli soldiers drew near, and four others died in Israeli air strikes, according to Israeli officials and the public findings of military investigations.
Three hostages were killed by Israeli soldiers who mistook them for Palestinian militants, the Israeli military said publicly; one was shot dead in crossfire. The circumstances surrounding the deaths of 26 others remain inconclusive. NYTIMES
