Alex Dancyg, Chaim Peri, Yagev Buchshtab, Yoram Metzger and Nadav Popplewell had already been announced dead by the Israeli army in recent months, while Kibbutz Nir Oz, one of the communities where the October 7 massacres took place, confirmed on Tuesday, August 20, the death of one of its members, Avraham Munder. The Israeli army announced on Tuesday that it had recovered from a tunnel in the Gaza Strip the bodies of six hostages who died on the night of Monday to Tuesday, during an operation carried out jointly with internal intelligence.
“During the operation, forces located the opening of a tunnel approximately 10 meters deep leading to another underground tunnel, where the bodies of the hostages were found,” the army said. Israeli army spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said Tuesday evening that the six men had “been killed while (its) troops were operating in Khan Younis,” a city in the southern Gaza Strip. “The exact circumstances of the hostages’ deaths in captivity are being investigated,” he added, the results of which will be “presented to the families and the public.”
In March, Hamas claimed that Chaim Peri and Yoram Metzger had been killed by Israeli strikes and that Yagev Buchshtab had died from lack of food and medicine, while Alex Dancyg had been killed by Israeli gunfire. These claims, however, have not been confirmed by the IDF, the IDF said. The Times of Israel.
“After obtaining intelligence” and forensic expertise, the families of the deceased hostages have been informed, the army said in a statement. The families can now “turn the page” and “grant eternal rest to those killed,” said the Hostage Families Forum, which represents some of the hostages’ relatives. A former hostage told AFP that the six men were held together in a tunnel after their abduction by Hamas on October 7. Who were they?
Avraham Munder, 79 years old
Kibbutz Nir Oz announced Tuesday morning the death of Avraham Munder, 79, “after months of physical and mental torture.” Three other hostages whose bodies were recovered Tuesday (Alex Dancyg, Chaim Peri, and Yoram Metzger) were also from Nir Oz, where Hamas commandos had stormed on October 7.
On that day, Avraham Munder was kidnapped along with his wife, daughter and grandson, who were later released during a week-long truce in Gaza in late November. His son was killed on the day of the attack. Avraham Munder fought in the Six-Day War, according to The Jerusalem Post.
Alex Dancyg, 75 years old
The IDF announced in July the death of Alex Dancyg, who was abducted on October 7 from Nir Oz, while in captivity in Gaza. Born to Holocaust survivors, he was an educator and historian.
Chaim Peri, 79 years old
He was the father of five children and the grandfather of 13 others. A peace activist, according to the Jerusalem Posthe had, “on the day of the massacre, managed to save his wife Asnat before being kidnapped himself,” his kibbutz said in a statement on Tuesday.
Yoram Metzger, 80 years old
In June, the Israeli military announced that he had been killed in captivity. “He leaves behind his wife, Tamar, who was abducted at the same time as him and released in the November deal.” […] as well as three children and seven grandchildren,” the statement said. Jerusalem Post.
Yagev Buchshtab, 35, and Nadav Popplewell, 51
They were both captured in Kibbutz Nirim. In June, the Israeli army announced that Nadav Popplewell had died in captivity. His mother, Channah Peri, had also been taken hostage and released as part of the November truce. Nadav Popplewell’s brother was murdered in the October 7 attacks. Yagev Buchshtab was a sound technician. He was abducted along with his wife, Rimon Kirsht Buchshtab, 36, who was released on November 28 as part of the agreement between Israel and Hamas.
The Hostage Families Forum now says that “the Israeli government, with the help of the mediators, must do everything in its power to finalize the agreement currently on the table.” The mediators – Egypt, Qatar and the United States – are in fact trying to conclude a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip that would allow the release of the remaining hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, for his part, offered his condolences to the families and added that the remaining hostages “must only be returned through intense military pressure, preventing the entry of fuel and humanitarian aid to terrorism and its supporters, and not through irresponsible agreements,” the statement said. Times of Israel.
The Hamas attack in southern Israel has left 1,199 people dead on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official data. Of the 251 people abducted that day, 105 are still being held in Gaza, including 34 declared dead by the army. The aerial bombardment campaign and ground offensive launched by Israel in retaliation have left at least 40,173 dead and nearly 93,000 injured, according to the Hamas government’s health ministry.