Israel says five Gaza hostages found dead in tunnel, circumstances being probed [View all]

Source: Reuters

Israel says five Gaza hostages found dead in tunnel, circumstances being probed

By Dan Williams
December 24, 2023 2:26 PM EST Updated 23 min ago

JERUSALEM, Dec 24 (Reuters) - Five Israeli hostages killed in Hamas captivity were recovered from an underground tunnel network in the northern Gaza Strip, the military said on Sunday, showing footage of a white-tiled bathroom and work room linked by dark concrete-lined passages.

The publication left open the question of how they had died, with chief military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari saying post-mortems were pending. "We will brief the families and then, depending on what they approve, the public," he said.

The three soldiers and two civilians were among 240 people dragged back to the Gaza Strip by Hamas gunmen during the cross-border rampage of Oct. 7 that sparked the war. The military announced the repatriation of their bodies earlier this month.

Hamas last week published video showing three of the hostages alive in what appeared to be a narrow, white-tiled and windowless bedroom with an electric wall socket.

In a Hebrew chyron directed at Israel, the Iranian-backed Islamist group said: "Your military weapons killed the three."

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Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israel-says-five-gaza-hostages-died-tunnel-circumstances-being-probed-2023-12-24/

Alternate no-paywall link: https://news.yahoo.com/israel-says-five-gaza-hostages-194728563.html