8 months ago

6 Hostages Murdered in Captivity, Bodies Recovered

IDF and families of hostages Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Eden Yerushalmi, Carmel Gat, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarus, and Ori Danino announce that they have been murdered in captivity, HY”D • Read More

By Israel National News

The family of hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin announced on Sunday morning that he was dead.

“With broken hearts, the Goldberg-Polin family is devastated to announce the death of their beloved son and brother, Hersh. The family thanks you all for your love and support and asks for privacy at this time,” they said.

The family of hostage Eden Yerushalmi also announced that she was murdered in the captivity of Hamas. “With great sorrow we announce the murder of our Eden in the captivity of Hamas.”

The family of hostage Ori Danino also announced his murder.

Yitzhak Danino, Ori’s brother, wrote in a post on Instagram, “I’m sorry my brother that I wasn’t able to do everything and on time, I’ll live with it forever. I know you’ll watch over me from above and I can’t believe I’m even able to talk about you like that.”

The family of Carmel Gat also announced that she had been murdered while in captivity. Her cousin, Gil Dickmann, wrote on X, “The nightmare has come true. It was in our hands. Get out of your homes in order to stop the next murder.”

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IDF Spokesman: ‘Hamas murdered the 6 hostages shortly before we reached them’

IDF Spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari delivered a statement Sunday morning:

“This morning, our hearts are broken alongside the families of Ori Danino, Alex Lobanov, Almog Sarusi, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Carmel Gat, and Eden Yerushalmi, may their memories be a blessing. A few hours ago, we informed the families that the bodies of their loved ones had been located by IDF troops in an underground tunnel in Rafah. According to our initial assessment, they were brutally murdered by Hamas terrorists shortly before we reached them.”

“They were abducted alive on the morning of October 7th by the Hamas terror organization. Their bodies were found during combat in Rafah in an underground tunnel, approximately one kilometer from the tunnel from which we rescued Farhan al-Qadi a few days ago. Since Farhan’s identification, the forces have been instructed to act with extra caution, even more so than usual, understanding that there might be additional hostages in the area. We did not have information on the exact location of the hostages. Combat was ongoing above ground, and the troops eliminated terrorists even during the battles there yesterday. The troops are still operating in the field at this time,” Hagari said.

“Last night, IDF troops located and retrieved the bodies of the hostages from the tunnel and brought them to Israeli territory for further identification. After the process, which was conducted by medical officials and the Lahav 443 Unit of the Israel Police, IDF representatives informed the families,” he said.

“We share in the great sorrow of their families during this difficult time. It is impossible to put into words what the hostages have endured in Hamas captivity since October 7th, now 331 days, and what their families have been going through. This morning, this news shakes us all,” Hagari concluded.

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Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu on the recovery of the six murdered hostages HY’D: “I say to the Hamas terrorists who murdered our captives and to their leaders—your blood is on your own heads. We will not rest, and we will not be silent. We will hunt you down, we will find you, and we will hold you accountable.”