The Israeli authorities on Sunday identified the six bodies they had recovered the day before as hostages abducted by Hamas and its allies nearly 11 months ago, and immediately faced criticism from the families of those being held captive for not prioritizing their release.
The Israeli military said the six hostages had been killed by Hamas. It identified them as Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi and Ori Danino. There was no immediate comment from Hamas on its main social media channels.
The victims’ ages ranged from 23 to 40, according to an umbrella group of families of hostages. Five of those captured had been at a dance music festival in southern Israel. The sixth, Ms. Gat, was taken from the nearby village of Be’eri.
On Saturday, the Israeli military said that it had found a number of bodies during a military operation. It did not say if they were hostages, but the announcement immediately led to speculation in Israel that more Israeli hostages had died in captivity. It also amplified calls for an immediate cease-fire so that the remaining 100 or so hostages in Gaza, both dead and alive, could be returned.
On Sunday, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, the umbrella group, called for mass protests in Israel to demand the release of those still being held in Gaza. They also criticized Israel’s government for the “ongoing neglect of the hostages,” an implicit call for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies to soften their position in cease-fire talks over the war.
“A deal for the return of the hostages has been on the table for over two months,” the group said in a statement. “Were it not for the delays, sabotage, and excuses those whose deaths we learned about this morning would likely still be alive. It’s time to bring our hostages home — the living for rehabilitation, and the fallen and murdered for burial in their homelands.”
Mr. Netanyahu is holding out for a deal in which the country would be able to retain control of strategic parts of Gaza during a cease-fire and restart the war in the future. Mr. Netanyahu and his allies say that a bad deal would endanger Israel’s long-term security. His opponents say that the delay is endangering the lives of the remaining hostages.
Before the Israeli military’s announcement, President Biden issued a statement saying that the six bodies were those of hostages and had been recovered in a tunnel under Rafah, a city in southern Gaza. He also identified one of the victims as Mr. Goldberg-Polin, who was a dual Israeli American citizen.
Mr. Goldberg-Polin, whose family announced his death in a separate statement, was among the roughly 250 people who were abducted by Hamas and its allies during their Oct. 7 attack on Israel. He had been seriously injured during the attack and was last seen in a video released by Hamas in April.
“I am devastated and outraged. Hersh was among the innocents brutally attacked while attending a music festival for peace in Israel,” Mr. Biden said. “He lost his arm helping friends and strangers during Hamas’ savage massacre. He had just turned 23.”
The bodies of Mr. Goldberg-Polin and the other hostages were returned to Israeli territory, according to the Israeli military, which confirmed it had found them in a tunnel in the Rafah area.
Mr. Biden vowed to keep working toward an agreement to secure the release of the hostages. But he also issued a warning: “Make no mistake, Hamas leaders will pay for these crimes.”
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