The troops of the Israel Defense Forces reportedly located several bodies in the Gaza Strip, which the IDF said could be the remains of Israeli hostages kidnapped by Hamas militants after the October 7 attack last year. However, IDF said the bodies are yet to be identified.
“The IDF located a number of bodies during combat in the Gaza Strip. At this time, the troops are still operating in the area and are carrying out a process to extract and identify the bodies that will last several hours. We ask to refrain from spreading rumours,” the military said in a statement on Saturday night.
Body Of American Hostage Among Recovered Remains?
The United States has claimed that the body of an Israeli-American hostage was among six recovered in Gaza by Israeli forces during combat.
“Earlier today, in a tunnel under the city of Rafah, Israeli forces recovered six bodies of hostages held by Hamas...We have now confirmed that one of the hostages… was an American citizen, Hersh Goldberg-Polin,” US President Joe Biden said in a statement on Saturday. “
Protest Against Netanyahu
Soon after the announcement about the recovery of remains, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum -- a prominent activist group representing many relatives of abductees held in Gaza -- issued a statement calling on the public to prepare to hold sweeping protests against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government on Sunday. The organisation accused Netanyahu and his government of failing to secure a deal to return the hostages and thus abandoning them to their deaths.
“Netanyahu (Prime Minister) abandoned the hostages. Starting tomorrow, the country will tremble. We call on the public to prepare. The country will grind to a halt. The abandonment is over, the forum said in a statement, adding that it would provide more details on Sunday.
Israel's Opposition Leader Yair Lapid also accused Netanyahu of focusing on insignificant issues as “our sons and daughters are being abandoned and dying in captivity," according to a report by Times of Isreal.
The developments came days after the security cabinet voted to back Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s demand to not withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor in any deal, and as a polio vaccination drive was beginning in the Gaza Strip.
Hostage Situation In Gaza
As per the Times of Israel report, it is believed that 103 of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza, including the bodies of 33 confirmed dead by the IDF. In November last year, Hamas released 105 civilians during a weeklong truce, and four hostages were released before that.
Moreover, eight hostages were rescued by troops alive, while the bodies of 31 hostages have been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the military as they tried to escape their captors. Hamas is also reportedly holding two Israeli civilians who entered the Strip in 2014 and 2015, along with the bodies of two IDF soldiers who were killed in 2014. If the newly found remains are confirmed to be of hostages, it would add to 12 bodies of hostages retrieved from Gaza in the past few weeks.