Israel’s recovery of six hostage bodies in Gaza puts pressure on Netanyahu

Israel announced it had recovered the bodies of six hostages from a tunnel in Gaza, where they were apparently killed shortly before Israeli forces reached them. This has sparked protests in Israel and plans for strikes over the failure to rescue them. The bodies were found in the southern city of Rafah, coinciding with the start of a polio vaccination campaign in Gaza and an increase in violence in the occupied West Bank.

The bodies of Carmel Gat, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Eden Yerushalmi, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi, and Ori Danino have been returned to Israel, according to military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari. He reported that “based on our initial assessment, they were brutally murdered by Hamas terrorists shortly before we got there.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, facing increasing pressure to end the nearly 11-month-long conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza through a deal that includes a ceasefire and the release of remaining hostages, stated that Israel would not rest until those responsible were brought to justice.

via Reuters