Israeli military recovers six bodies of hostages from Gaza

The bodies of six hostages were recovered from the Gaza Strip in an overnight operation, the Israeli military said on Tuesday morning.

Their corpses were found in the city of Khan Younis in the south of the coastal territory, the military said.

The families of the six men have been informed, it said.

According to media reports, five of the men were between 35 and 80 years old.

Several had already previously been declared dead by the army.

The report said that they were all alive when they were abducted.

According to Israel’s count, the Palestinian militant organisation Hamas still holds 109 hostages, many of whom are likely no longer alive.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is currently trying to broker an agreement for a ceasefire in the Gaza conflict and the release of the hostages.

Israel has accepted a US-supported proposal to bridge differences between Israel and Hamas, Mr Blinken said on Monday.

Hamas, however, has not yet agreed to it.

Hamas and other Palestinian militants abducted a total of 253 people from Israel into Gaza on 7 October.

Some of them were freed through a prisoner exchange, and a few hostages were able to be rescued by the Israeli army albeit at high cost.

The Israeli army killed many Palestinian civilians during these military operations, for which Israel has faced international criticism.

(dpa/NAN)