Israel recovers bodies of six hostages from Gaza, including Israeli-American man

Israel announced on Sunday that it had recovered the bodies of six hostages from Gaza, including 23-year-old Hersh Goldberg-Polin, an Israeli-American man who became one of the most prominent captives held by Hamas. His parents had campaigned for his release, including at the Democratic convention last month.

Goldberg-Polin and four other hostages—Ori Danino, 25; Eden Yerushalmi, 24; Almog Sarusi, 27; and Alexander Lobanov, 33—were abducted during a music festival in southern Israel during Hamas’ attack on October 7, which ignited the current war. The sixth victim, 40-year-old Carmel Gat, was kidnapped from the nearby farming community of Be’eri.

According to Israel’s military, all six were killed shortly before an attempted rescue operation by Israeli forces.

The recovery of their bodies has led to increased calls for protests against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with many families of hostages and much of the broader public blaming him for failing to secure their release through a deal with Hamas to end the ongoing 10-month war. Negotiations over such a deal have stalled for months, with Netanyahu insisting that military pressure is essential to securing their freedom as ceasefire efforts continue to falter.

Hamas has proposed releasing the hostages in exchange for ending the war, withdrawing Israeli forces, and freeing a large number of Palestinian prisoners.

Before Sunday’s announcement, Israel reported that 108 hostages were still believed to be held in Gaza, with about one-third presumed dead. Previous Israeli operations to free hostages have resulted in the deaths of many Palestinians, and Hamas claims several hostages have been killed in Israeli airstrikes and failed rescue attempts. Israeli forces mistakenly killed three Israelis who had escaped captivity in December.

The conflict began when Hamas-led militants stormed southern Israel in October last year, killing approximately 1,200 people, mostly civilians. In response, Israel launched a retaliatory offensive in Gaza, which has resulted in the deaths of over 40,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials. The offensive has also displaced the majority of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents and plunged the territory into a humanitarian crisis.

Meanwhile, Israeli military vehicles were spotted in the West Bank town of Jenin early Sunday, following heavy fighting earlier in the week. Israel claimed to have killed a senior Hamas commander on Friday, and at least 20 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli raids across the northern West Bank since late Tuesday. Israel argues that these raids are necessary to prevent attacks, while Palestinians see them as an expansion of the war in Gaza and a means of perpetuating Israel’s long-standing military rule. Palestinian officials report that at least 663 people have been killed in the West Bank since the war began.