Israeli forces recover 6 hostage bodies from Gaza, including American

Shafaq News/ On Saturday evening, the Israeli army announced the discovery of several bodies during an operation in the Gaza Strip, while on Sunday, Israeli authorities revealed the identities of the six recovered bodies.

In a statement, the Israeli army said that its forces had recovered several bodies from the Gaza Strip. “The forces are still in the field, and retrieving and identifying the bodies will take hours, so the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have restricted the release of details.”

Haaretz newspaper reported that the bodies belonged to hostages, while social media circulated news about the discovery of six bodies.

The Mossad Commentary, a page following war news, posted on X, “The bodies of Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi, and Master Sergeant Ori Danino were found and recovered yesterday.”

It added, “The IDF and ISA send their heartfelt condolences to the families. Israeli security forces are operating with all means to bring home all the hostages as fast as possible.”

Furthermore, Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee shared photos on X of the six hostages, stating, "The IDF and Shin Bet forces have found and brought back to Israel the bodies of the six hostages: Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi, and Sergeant Ori Danino.”

In turn, military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari confirmed that the hostages were killed by Hamas in Rafah shortly before Israeli forces reached them.

“Hersh Goldberg-Polin is an American hero who will be remembered for his kindness and selflessness. Our hearts break for Jon, Rachel, and their entire family, as well as the other families who found out today their loved ones won’t be coming home. May their memory be a blessing,” US Secretary Antony Blinken said on X.

On October 7, Israel launched a major offensive against Gaza in response to a Hamas operation, which followed intensified Israeli actions against Palestinians. According to Israeli reports, about 250 hostages were taken by Hamas. Since then, at least 40,602 people have been killed in Gaza, including over 16,500 children, and more than 93,855 have been injured, with 10,000 missing, according to Al-Jazeera's tracker. Meanwhile, the Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association reported that about 10,000 Palestinians are currently in Israeli jails. Additionally, Defense for Children Palestine highlighted that each year, 500-700 Palestinian children, some as young as 12, are detained and prosecuted in Israeli military courts, with stone-throwing being the most common charge.