The Israeli army stated today, Tuesday, that recovering all prisoners held in Gaza through military operations is impossible, following the announcement this morning of finding the bodies of six detainees during an operation conducted in conjunction with internal intelligence. The army reported that last night, through a joint operation with the Israel Security Agency "Shin Bet," it managed to retrieve the six bodies from inside a tunnel in Khan Yunis, central Gaza Strip.
It added that an investigation has been opened into the causes of the six detainees' deaths. The army claimed the "success of the operation" was due to precise information from Shin Bet, intelligence units, and the Kidnapped and Missing Persons Unit in the intelligence department, which led to locating the bodies in the Khan Yunis area. This came just hours after the army announced in a tweet on "X" that it had recovered the bodies of five hostages previously reported dead in recent months: Alex Dancig, Shaim Peri, Ya'gev Bushtab, Yoram Metzger, and Nadav Poblovell, in addition to the body of Abraham Munder, whose death was announced by Kibbutz Nir Oz on Tuesday.
In response, the "Families of the Abducted" forum stated that the announcement of Munder's death, who was alive, represents a "cry against the Israeli government" headed by Benjamin Netanyahu, arguing that he should have been freed along with all the detained alive and that the proposed deal on the table should be accepted in order to reach a truce with Hamas. This opinion was reinforced by Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid, who emphasized that Israel is losing more hostages and that the Israeli government must reach an agreement immediately.
It is worth noting that a former female prisoner confirmed to AFP that the six detainees were held together in a tunnel after being captured by Hamas during its attack on Israel on October 7. Munder was held with his wife, daughter, and grandson, while his son was killed during the unprecedented attack launched by Hamas on southern Israel on October 7. Meanwhile, the other family members were released as part of a prisoner exchange deal during a week-long truce in November.
