Israeli forces conducted a daring and difficult operation in the tunnels under Khan Yunis, in Gaza, on Monday night to retrieve the bodies of six hostages who died in Hamas captivity.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Israel Security Agency (ISA, or Shin Bet, or Shabak) said in a joint statement:
Overnight (Monday), in a joint IDF and ISA operation, the bodies of the hostages Yagev Buchshtab, Alexander Dancyg, Avraham Munder, Yoram Metzger, Nadav Popplewell, and Haim Perry were rescued from the Khan Yunis area in the Gaza Strip.
The rescue operation was conducted under the command of the 98th Division and carried out by the Paratroopers Brigade, ‘Yahalom’ Unit, and the 75th Battalion, along with ISA forces.
The operation was enabled by precise intelligence from the ISA, IDF intelligence units, and the IDF Intelligence Directorate Hostage Headquarters.
Following an identification procedure carried out by the National Institute of Forensic Medicine and the Israel Police, the IDF Manpower Directorate’s Hostage team, which is responsible for accompanying the families of the hostages, notified their families and communities today. The IDF and ISA send their heartfelt condolences to the families.
The IDF and ISA are continuing to deploy all operational and intelligence means in order to fulfill the supreme national mission of bringing back all the hostages.
At least one of the hostages had appeared alive in a Hamas hostage video in December.
In a statement, Kibbutz Nir Oz noted that Avraham Munder, 79, had been a beloved member of the community. His son, Roee, was murdered by Hamas on October 7, and his wife and grandson were abducted and later released during a truce in November.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken acknowledged Monday that Israel had accepted the U.S. proposal for a hostage and ceasefire deal, while Hamas had not. There are roughly 109 hostages still in Gaza, about half of whom are believed to be alive.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of “”The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days,” available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of “The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency,” now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
