IDF confirms it retrieved bodies of 6 hostages from Gaza, including previously unnamed Alex Dancyg

In a rapid and dramatic operation, the IDF recovered the bodies of six Israeli hostages from southern Gaza overnight, marking the quickest such mission amid the ongoing war.  The 98th Division expanded its operation in Khan Younis on Sunday, achieving "operational control" over a neighborhood by early Monday. Acting on precise intelligence, combat engineersh located a 10-meter deep tunnel where Hamas had hidden the hostages' bodies behind a false wall.  Within 24 hours, the elite Yahalom unit and Shin Bet operatives breached the tunnel’s defenses, uncovering the remains alongside weapons and explosives.  The mission followed intense fighting, during which several Hamas guards were killed. The bodies of both the hostages and the dead terrorists were brought back to Israel for identification.

 The Israel Defense Forces confirms that it has recovered the bodies of six Israeli hostages during an overnight operation in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.

The hostages are Alex Dancyg, 75, Yagev Buchshtav, 35, Chaim Peri, 79, Yoram Metzger, 80, Nadav Popplewell, 51, and Avraham Munder, 78.

Dancyg and Buchshtav had been confirmed dead by the IDF in late July, while Peri, Metzger and Popplewell were declared dead by the army in early June. The five were believed to have been killed in Khan Younis in early 2024, although the causes of death were not known.

Munder had not been previously declared dead by the IDF, although the army had some information that led it to have concerns for his wellbeing.

With the bodies recovered, the IDF says it will continue to investigate the causes of death, including the possibility that the hostages were killed by Israeli fire.

The IDF says it had accurate intelligence that allowed troops with the 98th Division and members of the Shin Bet security agency to reach a tunnel in Khan Younis and recover the bodies, amid a new offensive in the city in the southern Gaza Strip.

Munder, Dancyg, Peri and Metzger were all abducted by Hamas from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, while Buchshtav and Popplewell were taken hostage from Kibbutz Nirim.

It is now believed that 105 of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza, including the bodies of 34 confirmed dead by the IDF.

Hamas released 105 civilians during a weeklong truce in late November, and four hostages were released before that. Seven hostages have been rescued alive by troops, and the bodies of 30 hostages have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the military as they tried to escape their captors.

Hamas is also holding two Israeli civilians who entered the Strip in 2014 and 2015, as well as the bodies of two IDF soldiers who were killed in 2014.