Israel retrieved the bodies of six hostages from the Khan Younis area in southern Gaza overnight, according to statements from the military and the prime minister's office on Tuesday.
A combination picture shows undated handout images of Israeli hostages Alex Dancyg, Yoram Metzger, Yagev Buchshtab, Chaim Peri and Abraham Munder and hostage Nadav Popplewell, who were kidnapped in the deadly October 7 attack by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas. Courtesy of Bring Them Home Now/The Hostages Families Forum/Handout via Reuters
Israel retrieved the bodies of six hostages from the Khan Younis area in southern Gaza overnight, according to statements from the military and the prime minister's office on Tuesday.
The families of Yagev Buchshtab, Alexander Dancyg, Avraham Munder, Yoram Metzger, Nadav Popplewell, and Chaim Perry have been informed, the statements added.
The Hostages Families Forum, an organisation that represents most hostage families, welcomed the news but renewed its call on the government to conclude a hostage release deal with the Gaza-based Palestinian militant group Hamas.
"The immediate return of the remaining 109 hostages can only be achieved through a negotiated deal. The Israeli government, with the assistance of mediators, must do everything in its power to finalise the deal currently on the table," it said.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in the Middle East this week trying to secure a ceasefire and hostage return agreement between Israel and Hamas.
The current war in Gaza began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas gunmen stormed into Israeli communities, killing around 1,200 people and abducting about 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel's military has since levelled swathes of the Palestinian enclave, driving nearly all of its 2.3 million people from their homes, giving rise to deadly hunger and disease and killing at least 40,000 people, according to Palestinian health authorities.
Reporting by Maytaal Angel; Editing by Alex Richardson
A new poll conducted between April 28 and May 5 reveals a striking picture of Lebanese public opinion on a potential peace agreement with Israel: across most of the country's major religious communities, support is either strong or majority, with one dramatic exception.
The organisers of an aid flotilla bound for Gaza said on Tuesday Israeli forces had intercepted 41 of their boats in the eastern Mediterranean, with 10 vessels still sailing toward the enclave.
The organisers of a flotilla of aid vessels bound for Gaza said on Monday that Israeli forces had intercepted 39 of their boats in the eastern Mediterranean, while the remaining ships were continuing to sail toward the enclave.
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