Israel is mourning the deaths of six hostages at the hands of Hamas, officials said on Saturday.
The hostages had been “brutally murdered by Hamas terrorists shortly before we reached them,” IDF Spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in an update on Sunday morning of initial assessments.
“During this painful and difficult time, my thoughts and my heart are with the families of the hostages who were killed,” Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant said on Saturday.
He named the six hostages killed as Ori Danino, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi, Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, and American-Israeli Hersh Goldberg-Polin.
Gallant said the hostages had been recently “murdered in cold blood,” not long before the IDF and ISA—who were fighting Hamas terrorists in an underground tunnel in the Rafah area of the Gaza strip—found them.
They have since been recovered and sent back to Israel for burial.
“The heart of an entire nation is shattered to pieces with the news of the murder[s],” President Isaac Herzog said on X.
“On behalf of the State of Israel, I embrace their families with all my heart, and apologize for failing to bring them home safely. We will continue to fight relentlessly against the criminal, terrorist organization Hamas, which has once again proven there is no end to its willingness to commit murder and crimes against humanity.”
Hagari added that the six bodies were found during combat in a tunnel nearby where rescued hostage Farhan Alkadi was found a few days earlier. Alkadi was successfully rescued and returned to Israel where he has been reunited with his family.
The spokesperson said that security forces have since been “instructed to act with extra caution, even more so than usual, understanding that there might be additional hostages in the area.”
“We did not have information on the exact location of the hostages,” he said. “Combat was ongoing above ground, and the troops eliminated terrorists even during the battles there yesterday. The troops are still operating in the field at this time.”
“It is impossible to put into words what the hostages have endured in Hamas captivity since October 7th, now 331 days, and what their families have been going through. This morning, this news shakes us all.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the nation on Sunday morning.
“This is a difficult day for us,” he said. “Together with all citizens of Israel, I was outraged to the depths of my soul by the horrific, cold-blooded murder of six of our hostages. May G-d avenge them.”
“Together with the entire nation, my wife and I share in the families’ deep mourning.
“I say to the Hamas terrorists who murdered our hostages and I say to their leaders: You will pay the price. We will not rest, nor will be silent. We will pursue you, we will find you and we will settle accounts with you.”
Protests broke out in the streets of Israel, attended by those who blame the Netanyahu government for Hamas’s killing of the hostages, like the leader of the opposition Yair Lapid.
Israelis are split on what is the best approach for ensuring the safe return of its hostages amid one-sided negotiations with Hamas.
Some families of abductees from the right-leaning Forum Tikva support Netanyahu’s approach to the hostage crisis. But other families with the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum want the government to agree to Hamas’s demands as they believe this would ensure the safe release of their captive family members.
Hamas has demanded that Israel cede control of the Philadelphi Corridor, which provides Hamas with an entrance to the Gaza Strip from Egypt. The corridor allows the terrorist group to move people, supplies, and weapons in and out of Gaza.
Netanyahu has resisted pressure to bend to Hamas’s demands, saying that it is constantly advancing efforts to secure the release of the remaining hostages, despite Hamas refusing to hold genuine negotiations since December, and its refusing two hostage deals on May 27 and again on Aug. 16.
Pressure also came from Defense Minister Gallant, who in a post on X called on the cabinet to “convene immediately” on Sunday to reverse a Thursday decision. He didn’t specify what the decision was.
“It’s too late for the abductees who were murdered in cold blood,” Gallant said. “The abductees who remain in the captivity of Hamas must be returned home. The State of Israel will reckon with all the leaders and murderers of Hamas, down to the last one.”
Netanyahu responded by saying that he and his government remain committed “to continue striving toward a deal that will return all of our hostages and ensure our security and our existence.”
“Citizens of Israel, We are fighting on all fronts against a brutal enemy who wants to murder us all. Only this morning, it murdered three police officers in Hebron. My wife and I send heartfelt condolences to their families.
“We saw the inconceivable brutality of the Hamas murderers on October 7 and we have seen it again in the tunnels under Rafah.
“The fact that Hamas is continuing to perpetrate atrocities like those it carried out on October 7 requires us to do everything so that it will be unable to perpetrate these atrocities again,” the prime minister said.
He added that while “Hamas is continuing to steadfastly refuse all proposals,” Israel had in recent days been holding intensive negotiations with mediators.
“At the exact same time, it murdered six of our hostages. Whoever murders hostages—does not want a deal,” he said.