According to Israeli media, the names of three captives were included in the exchange agreement of July 2, which was rejected by Netanyahu.
The Israeli army announced on Sunday that it had recovered the bodies of six captives found inside a tunnel in the southern Gaza Strip, confirming their identities.
The Palestinian Resistance Movement Hamas said in a statement that the detainees were killed in the ongoing Israeli bombings in the Gaza Strip.
According to Israeli army spokesperson Daniel Hagari, the six bodies were recovered in a tunnel located in the Rafah area in southern Gaza.
Earlier in the day, the Israeli army had announced the discovery of bodies in Gaza without providing details about their number or identities, urging Israelis to “refrain from spreading rumors.”
In this video, Hergh Goldberg Polin, one of the captives whose bodies were recovered today, accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of neglecting them.
“Netanyahu, you neglected us. Don't you want to end this nightmare?
“Bring us home immediately.”
Goldberg Polin… pic.twitter.com/uAAnTwx4WV
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) September 1, 2024
US President Joe Biden confirmed that one of the bodies found was that of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, an Israeli-American citizen.
Biden said he was “devastated and outraged” and added that Hamas leaders will pay “for these crimes”.
Hamas, in a statement, blamed Israel for the deaths of the captives, citing Israel’s ongoing genocide on Gaza and accused the US of supporting the aggression.
Hamas stated that the detainees were killed by Israeli bombings and argued that if Biden was truly concerned for their lives, he should stop supporting Israel.
The movement added that they had been more concerned about the lives of the detainees than Biden and had agreed to his proposals and the UN Security Council resolution, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had rejected.
Tired of Netanyahu's obstruction, families of Israeli hostages ask an experienced Israeli negotiator to pursue a direct deal with Hamas. He promptly secures a deal that wins the freedom of ALL Israeli hostages and ends the war.
Netanyahu rejects it. https://t.co/RYjLU5Nold
— Trita Parsi (@tparsi) August 31, 2024
On Saturday night, Hamas released a message titled “The Price is One” on its Telegram channel, recalling previous statements by the Qassam Brigades’ spokesperson, Abu Obeida, who had said that “the price for the release of five prisoners is the same as for all prisoners.”
According to an anonymous Israeli official cited by the Israeli news website Ynet, three of the captives whose bodies were listed to be retrieved as part of the ceasefire agreement of July 2.
Before the discovery of the six bodies, Israel had claimed that 107 prisoners were still held in Gaza, including several who had died.
Hamas had previously stated that dozens of detainees were killed by Israeli bombings across the Strip during the 11-month genocidal war.
The discovery of these bodies has led to increased protests in Israel, with growing accusations against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for obstructing prisoner exchange and ceasefire negotiations.
(PC, AJA)
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