The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have confirmed today that they have recovered the bodies of six Israeli hostages during an overnight operation in Khan Younis, located in the southern Gaza Strip.
The hostages recovered are: Alex Dancyg, 75; Yagev Buchshtav, 35; Chaim Peri, 79; Yoram Metzger, 80; Nadav Popplewell, 51; and Avraham Munder, 78.
Dancyg and Buchshtav were confirmed dead by the IDF at the end of July, while Peri, Metzger, and Popplewell were declared dead by the military in early June. It is believed that the five hostages were killed in Khan Younis in early 2024, although the exact causes of their deaths were not initially known.
Munder had not previously been declared dead by the IDF, though the military had concerns about his health based on available information.
With the recovery of the bodies, the IDF announced that they will continue investigating the causes of death, including the possibility that the hostages might have been killed by Israeli fire.
The IDF stated that precise intelligence enabled troops from the 98th Division and members of the Shin Bet security service to locate a tunnel in Khan Younis and recover the bodies amidst a renewed offensive in the southern Gaza Strip.
Munder, Dancyg, Peri, and Metzger were kidnapped by Hamas from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, while Buchshtav and Popplewell were taken hostage from Kibbutz Nirim.
It is now believed that 105 of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza, including the bodies of 34 confirmed dead by the IDF.
Hamas released 105 civilians during a week-long ceasefire at the end of November, and four hostages were freed earlier. Seven hostages have been rescued alive by Israeli troops, and the bodies of 30 hostages have been recovered, including three who were accidentally killed by the military while trying to escape their captors.
Hamas is also holding two Israeli civilians who entered the Gaza Strip in 2014 and 2015, as well as the bodies of two IDF soldiers killed in 2014.
