Israel Recovers Bodies of Six Hostages in Gaza, Sparks Protests Against Netanyahu
In a somber turn of events, Israel has announced the recovery of the bodies of six hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, including a young Israeli-American man who gained international attention. The news has sparked widespread outrage and calls for mass protests against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The six hostages, aged between 23 and 40, were seized during a Hamas attack on a music festival in southern Israel in October. Israel’s military had initially reported that all six were killed shortly before they were to be rescued by Israeli forces.
The recovered bodies include that of 23-year-old Hersh Goldberg-Polin, an Israeli-American man whose parents had pressed for his release, including at the Democratic convention last month. The other hostages identified were Ori Danino, 25; Eden Yerushalmi, 24; Almog Sarusi, 27; and Alexander Lobanov, 33, who were taken from the music festival. The sixth hostage, Carmel Gat, 40, was abducted from a nearby farming community.
The recovery of the bodies has sparked widespread condemnation of Netanyahu, with many families of hostages and the wider Israeli public blaming him for failing to bring them back alive in a deal with Hamas to end the 10-month-old war. Negotiations over such a deal have dragged on for months, with Netanyahu stating that military pressure is needed to win their release as ceasefire efforts falter.
Hamas, meanwhile, has offered to release the hostages in return for an end to the war, the withdrawal of Israeli forces, and the release of a large number of Palestinian prisoners. Israel believes 108 hostages are still held in Gaza, with about one-third of them reportedly dead.
The development comes as tensions in the region continue to escalate, with Israeli military vehicles spotted in the West Bank town of Jenin early on Sunday. Heavy fighting was reported in the city earlier in the week, resulting in the deaths of at least 20 Palestinians.
The Palestinian Authority has accused Israel of widening the war in Gaza and perpetuating its decades-long military rule over the West Bank. Over 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Gaza, with local health officials reporting that it has also displaced the vast majority of Gaza’s 2.3 million people, often multiple times, and plunged the besieged territory into a humanitarian catastrophe.
As the situation remains precarious, international leaders and organizations are calling for a ceasefire and an end to the violence.
