The relatives have expressed their anger and will demonstrate against the “abandonment” of the government, which has asked them for “forgiveness”.
The Israeli military confirmed on Sunday that it had recovered the bodies of six hostages from an underground tunnel in the Rafah area, in the southern Gaza Strip, and returned them to Israeli territory.
The deceased, all taken hostage on October 7 during the Hamas attack, have been identified as Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, American-Israeli Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi and Ori Danino.
Their bodies were about a kilometre from where Bedouin hostage Kaid Farhan al Qadi was found alive last week, army chief Hagari said.
The discovery reduces the number of people still held captive to 97, compared to the 251 abducted on October 7, of whom at least 33 have been confirmed dead.
Anger from family members
“An agreement on the return of the hostages has been on the table for more than two months. If there had been no delays, sabotage and excuses, those whose deaths we learned about this morning would probably still be alive,” he said, according to the news from the Hostage and Missing Families Forum, which announced demonstrations in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv on Sunday.
“Netanyahu: Enough excuses. Enough distortions. Enough abandonment. (…). The time has come to bring our kidnapped people home: the living to rehabilitate them and the dead and murdered to bury them in their land,” he repeated, before calling on the population to “prepare” for the demonstration for the government’s “abandonment of the hostages.” “Netanyahu has abandoned the hostages. Now it is a fact. From tomorrow the country will tremble (…). The country will be paralyzed. The surrender is over,” he said on the aforementioned platform.
Herzog apologizes
For his part, Israeli President Isaac Herzog apologized “on behalf of the State of Israel” to the families of the six hostages.
“On behalf of the State of Israel, I embrace their families with all my heart and apologize for not being able to bring them home safe and sound,” Herzog said in a statement today, ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has yet to send his condolences.
Source: EITB
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
