Israel Gaza latest updates: Israeli military says bodies of six hostages recovered in Rafah tunnel
Israel has recovered the bodies of six hostages who were captured by Hamas during the 7 October attack that ignited the Gaza war.
The Israeli military said early on Sunday that the corpses were found in a tunnel beneath the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where they were apparently killed not long before the troops reached them.
The bodies of Carmel Gat, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Eden Yerushalmi, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi and Ori Danino have been returned to Israel, military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told reporters in a briefing.
The discovery sparked calls for mass protests by families of the hostages who said their loved ones could have been returned alive in a ceasefire deal, while 101 Israeli and foreign captives are still in Gaza, with around two-thirds of these possibly alive.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, under pressure after nearly 11 months of war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza to reach a deal that includes a ceasefire and the release of remaining hostages, said his country would not rest until it caught those responsible.
Senior Hamas officials said that Israel, in its refusal to sign a ceasefire agreement, was to blame for the deaths.
