Israel discovers bodies of 5 hostages inside Hamas tunnel in Gaza.

On October 7, Hamas launched a surprise attack against Israel from Gaza.

New Delhi:

The Israeli military announced on Sunday that they have recovered the bodies of five hostages who were killed while in Hamas captivity. The Israeli Defence Force (IDF) released a video showing a Hamas tunnel network in Gaza City after locating three bodies on Sunday, following the retrieval of two others from a different area two weeks ago.

“In a concentrated intelligence effort, IDF troops located and retrieved the bodies of 5 hostages abducted during the October 7 massacre and brought them back to Israel,” the IDF posted on X.

In a centralized intelligence effort, IDF troops located and recovered the bodies of 5 hostages—abducted during the October 7 Massacre—and brought them back to Israel:

🕯️WO Ziv Dado
🕯️SGT Ron Sherman
🕯️CPL Nik Beizer
🕯️Eden Zacharia
🕯️Elia Toledano

May their memory be a… pic.twitter.com/tq1UlLo8Z2

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) December 24, 2023

Earlier this month, the bodies of Ziv Dado, a 36-year-old Israeli soldier, and Eden Zakaria, a 27-year-old attendee at a music festival in southern Israel attacked by Hamas, were recovered after being taken hostage on October 7. The remaining three bodies, identified as Sgt Ron Sherman, Cpl Nik Beizer, and Elia Toledano, have now been found on the eve of Christmas.

Footage posted by the IDF on X shows Israeli troops paying their respects to the fallen hostages. “The three fallen soldiers that we have recovered from here today, and it is a supreme value to bring our people to a proper burial in the Land of Israel,” remarked a soldier in the video.

On Saturday, Hamas reported losing contact with a group responsible for the five hostages held captive in the Gaza Strip, speculating that they had been killed during an Israeli raid. The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza reported at least 60 people killed in an Israeli airstrike on Sunday.

During the surprise attack on October 7, Hamas launched against Israel from Gaza, approximately 1,140 people lost their lives, with the majority being civilians according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

Hamas and other Palestinian militants initially took around 250 hostages during the attack. While 105 have been released, several others have died, including casualties from friendly fire incidents.

In response, Israel launched an unrelenting air and ground offensive with the aim of destroying the militant group. According to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, the conflict has claimed the lives of at least 20,424 people, with a disproportionate number being women and children.