By AARON BOXERMAN
Israeli forces retrieved the bodies of five Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military said Thursday, amid growing international pressure for a cease-fire deal that would involve the release of the remaining captives.
The bodies were found Wednesday in a tunnel shaft in a zone in the Khan Younis area that the Israeli military had previously designated as a “humanitarian area” where Gaza civilians could go to avoid fighting and receive aid, the Israeli military said in a statement. The shaft was nearly 220 yards long and more than 20 yards below ground, with several rooms, the statement said.
Israel has accused Hamas of launching rockets from the humanitarian zone and using it for other military purposes. There was no immediate response from Hamas.
Israel has been carrying out a new operation in Khan Younis this week, using tanks and fighter jets to strike what it has described as Hamas infrastructure in the southern Gaza city. The Gaza Health Ministry has reported that dozens of people have been killed during the offensive.
The five hostages — Maya Goren, 56; Tomer Ahimas, 20; Kiril Brodski, 19; Oren Goldin, 33; and Ravid Katz, 51 — were already presumed dead by Israeli officials. Brodski and Ahimas were soldiers who fell during the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, while the other three were civilians whose bodies were brought back to Gaza as bargaining chips.
The Israeli military said that intelligence — including information from detained Palestinian militants — had guided forces to the tunnel.
More than 250 people were abducted during the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, according to Israel, and 105 were released during a brief cease-fire in November. Israeli officials say 115 hostages remain in Gaza, including 40 who are presumed dead.
Goren was a kindergarten teacher from Nir Oz, one of the hardest-hit communities near the Gaza border; her husband was also killed on Oct. 7. Katz, also from Nir Oz, was a father of three children. The body of Goldin, a member of a nearby village’s civil response squad, was taken along with that of his brother-in-law Tal Haimi, whose body is still in Gaza.
Their return home in body bags created a contrast with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Washington, where he has sought to project optimism despite the growing rift over the war in Gaza.
“The war in Gaza could end tomorrow if Hamas surrenders, disarms and returns all the hostages,” Netanyahu said during his address to Congress on Wednesday. “But if they don’t, Israel will fight until we destroy Hamas’ military capabilities and its rule in Gaza and bring all our hostages home.”
Netanyahu did not refer to the current proposal backed by the Biden administration and the U.N. Security Council. Under that deal, Israel would ultimately agree to a permanent cease-fire with Hamas and withdraw its forces from Gaza in exchange for the release of all hostages.
Nissim Kalderon, whose brother Ofer was abducted on Oct. 7, accused Netanyahu of hesitating to reach a deal for political reasons. Netanyahu’s coalition government depends on hard-line parties who support permanent Israeli control of Gaza, effectively ruling out a cease-fire with Hamas.
“I expected, hoped, wished that you would open your speech with ‘We have a signed deal.’ But again and again, you’re not doing what you should have done 292 days ago,” Kalderon said at a rally in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Wednesday night. “Bring your citizens home.”
At least six Israeli relatives of hostages were arrested in the House gallery by Capitol Police during Netanyahu’s speech as they wore bright yellow T-shirts calling on him to reach an agreement to free their loved ones.
“Benjamin Netanyahu spoke for 54 minutes and he did not mention once the need to seal the deal,” said Gil Dickmann, whose cousin Carmel Gat was abducted from the Israeli border community of Be’eri. “That’s what he needs to do, sign the deal and release all the hostages now.”
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