The families of the Israeli prisoners have publicly criticized the government, holding it responsible for the deaths of their loved ones in Gaza.
Israel is conducting examinations on the bodies of six prisoners, recently recovered from Gaza, to determine if they were possibly killed by Israeli army fire, the newspaper Israel Hayom reported on Tuesday.
The investigation comes amid growing internal criticism and increasing demands for a prisoner exchange deal with Palestinian resistance groups.
According to the Israeli army spokesperson, identification procedures and medical examinations are expected to provide insights into the circumstances of their deaths.
The bodies were found in a tunnel in Khan Yunis, located in the southern Gaza Strip. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said they were identified as Yagev Buchshtab, Alexander Dancyg, Abraham Munder, Yoram Metzger, Nadav Popplewell and Chaim Peri, according to Reuters news agency.
Government’s Delay
The families of the Israeli prisoners have publicly criticized the government, holding it responsible for the deaths of their loved ones in Gaza.
They emphasized Israel’s moral obligation to ensure a dignified burial for the dead and the rehabilitation of the living captives.
The families also urged the government to finalize the deal currently under negotiation to bring hope back to Israel.
בוקר קשה עם בשורות כואבות, גופותיהם של אברהם מונדר, חיים פרי ויורם מצגר מניר עוז, נדב פופלוול ויגב בוכטשב, מקיבוץ נירים, שנרצחו בשבי חולצו הלילה והובאו לישראל.
אני שולח ניחומים מעומק הלב למשפחות ולכל בית ניר עוז ונירים. יהי זכרם ברוך. pic.twitter.com/cBKlT9Lv4k
— יאיר לפיד – Yair Lapid (@yairlapid) August 20, 2024
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid also expressed concern on the X platform, stating that more captives are being lost as time passes and stressing the urgency of reaching a deal.
He indirectly criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, implying that the prisoners were alive before the government’s delay.
The Recovery
Earlier on Tuesday, the Israeli military announced the recovery of the bodies of six prisoners who had been held in Gaza since October 7, following a joint operation with the General Security Service (Shin Bet).
The retrieved bodies were then identified, and the families were notified.
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The Israeli government’s handling of the situation has sparked intense criticism, with accusations that political considerations have compromised the safety and lives of the prisoners.
Some family members of the deceased have directly blamed Netanyahu for their relatives’ deaths, citing missed opportunities to secure their release earlier.
Ongoing Genocide
Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza.
Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 40,173 Palestinians have been killed, and 92,857 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.
Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.
Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.
Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.
The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.
Later in the war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians began moving from the south to central Gaza in a constant search for safety.
(AJA, PC)
The chances of the IDF not being directly responsible for their deaths, is vanishingly small, since the IDF is behaving like the hunter in Tom Lehrer’s satire The Hunting Song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZxjWdRR4P8&ab_channel=TomLehrer-Topic
“People ask me how I do it
And I say, “There’s nothin’ to it
You just stand there lookin’ cute
And when something moves, you shoot!””