The Israeli military said Thursday that bullets were found in the bodies of six hostages who were pulled from a tunnel in Gaza earlier this week, indicating they were shot.
The bodies of Yagev Buchshtab, Alexander Dancyg, Yoram Metzger, Nadav Popplewell, Chaim Perry and Avraham Munder were found Monday night in the southern Gaza Strip, the military said the following day, although it was unclear what caused their deaths while being held hostage.
A military spokesman told AFP Thursday that checks were carried out and “bullets were found in the bodies of six hostages” taken from a location raided by Israeli forces in the Khan Yunis area.
“The investigation into their deaths is ongoing,” the spokesman added. The six hostages who died were among 251 people seized by Palestinian militants in a Hamas attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7 that sparked the ongoing war in Gaza. Of those hostages, 105 remain in the Palestinian territory, including 34 who the military said were killed.
Military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said Tuesday that the six were “killed while our forces were operating in Khan Yunis.” Relatives of many hostages killed in captivity said the military told them their loved ones may have been killed by Israeli operations and bombardments in Gaza.
The October 7 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,199 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP news agency tally based on official Israeli figures. (ps/lt)
