Israeli army says it has found the bodies of six hostages

The Israeli military says the bodies of six hostages have been found in the Gaza Strip.

A statement from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the bodies of Yagev Buchshtab, Alexander Dancyg, Avraham Munder, Yoram Metzger, Nadav Popplewell and Haim Perry were found in the Khan Younis area on Monday.

Israel has announced the deaths of five of them, although Avraham Munder is believed to still be alive.

The rescue operation was carried out by the IDF together with the Israel Security Agency.

The Hostage Family Forum said the recovery of the bodies had given the families “much needed closure”.

The statement went on to say that the release of the remaining 109 hostages from Gaza “can only be achieved through a negotiated agreement” and called on the Israeli government to “do everything in its power to finalise the agreement currently in place”.

Talks on a long-awaited ceasefire and hostage release deal are ongoing, with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken currently in the Middle East to push for a deal.

On Monday, Mr Blinken said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had agreed to a US “bridging proposal” for a deal, after the two met in Tel Aviv.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog said on Tuesday “we send our sincere condolences and warm hugs to the families”.

“We must not stop for a single minute to do everything possible to rescue all the hostages,” he added.

Israel launched a military operation in Gaza in response to an unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7 by Hamas militants, in which some 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage.

More than 40,000 people have died in Gaza since then, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.