The bodies of six hostages have been retrieved from the Gaza Strip, Israel’s military says.
A statement from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says the bodies of Yagev Buchshtab, Alexander Dancyg, Avraham Munder, Yoram Metzger, Nadav Popplewell and Haim Perry were recovered from the Khan Younis area on Monday.
The rescue operation was carried out by the IDF alongside the Israel Security Agency.
The Hostage Families Forum said the recovery of the bodies had provided the families with “necessary closure”.
The statement went onto to say that the return of the remaining 109 hostages from Gaza “can only be achieved through a negotiated deal” and called on the Israeli government to “do everything in its power to finalize the deal currently on the table”.
On Monday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had agreed to an American “bridging proposal” for a ceasefire deal in Gaza.
