The Israeli army has recovered the bodies of six hostages in the Gaza Strip. The military officially announced this early this morning on its Telegram channel. The previous evening, the army had initially announced the discovery of several bodies without giving any further details. After hours of checking the identity of the bodies, there is now certainty.
The six murdered people were found in an underground tunnel in the Rafah area in the south of the contested Gaza Strip and were brought to Israel, the army said. All six victims were kidnapped in the Gaza Strip during a terrorist attack by the Islamist Hamas on October 7 last year. According to an army spokesman, they were killed by their kidnappers shortly before their bodies were discovered.
In total, terrorists from Hamas and other groups kidnapped more than 250 people from Israel that day in October and brought them to the sealed-off coastal area. During a week-long ceasefire at the end of November, Hamas released 105 hostages. In return, Israel released 240 Palestinian prisoners from prisons. The Israeli army was able to free a few hostages – sometimes at a high cost to the Palestinian civilian population in these military operations, for which Israel has been internationally criticized. It is not known how many of the hostages remaining in the Gaza Strip are still alive.
Prospects of success of talks in Cairo unclear
It is unclear whether a further agreement on a ceasefire and the release of abductees can be reached. For some time now, the USA, Egypt and Qatar have been holding mediation talks in Cairo on an agreement that would provide for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of hostages. However, the talks have stalled. Israel and Hamas are refusing to negotiate directly with the other side.
The main point of contention at present is the question of how long Israeli troops can remain stationed at the Philadelphia Corridor on the border with Egypt. Israel’s security cabinet recently decided to maintain control of the corridor. (dpa)
