Body of British Israeli hostage among six recovered from Gaza

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The body of a British-Israeli hostage is among six that have been recovered from the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military has said.

In a statement the Israeli army said that its forces reclaimed the bodies in an overnight operation in southern Gaza.

It identified the hostages as Nadav Popplewell, a British-Israeli, Yagev Buchshtab, Alexander Dancyg, Avraham Munder, Yoram Metzger, and Haim Perry.

The Hostage Families Forum said the recovery of the bodies had provided the families with “necessary closure” and urged the Israeli government to agree a negotiated deal for the return of the remaining 109 hostages.

In May, Hamas released a video saying that Mr Popplewell, who was taken hostage during its October 7 attack on Israel, died after being wounded in an Israeli airstrike in April.

Mr Popplewell was captured with his mother from her home in Kibbutz Nirim. His brother was killed during the attack. His mother was released during a temporary ceasefire in November.

The Hostage Families Forum described him as “generous and kind” and an avid reader of science fiction novels.

A statement from the Hostages Families Forum said: “The recovery of the bodies of Abraham, Alex, Chaim, Yagev, Yoram, and Nadav crucially provides their families with necessary closure and grants eternal rest to the murdered.

“Israel has a moral and ethical obligation to return all the murdered for dignified burial and to bring all living hostages home for rehabilitation.

“The immediate return of the remaining 109 hostages can only be achieved through a negotiated deal. The Israeli government, with the assistance of mediators, must do everything in its power to finalize the deal currently on the table.”

The recovery came as the the United States, Egypt and Qatar are trying to mediate a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday that Mr Netanyahu has accepted a proposal to bridge gaps in the ceasefire talks, after the two met for talks in Tel Aviv. Mr Blinken is traveling to Egypt and Qatar on Tuesday for further negotiations.

The negotiations are progressing as Israel continues its offensive in the southern Gaza Strip, with further intense fire reported overnight in the city of Khan Younis.

Palestinian civilians fleeing the area told The Independent: “Even in the so-called humanitarian areas which aren’t under evacuation orders the drones were shooting everywhere, we had bullet holes in our tent,” said Ahmad*, following evacuation orders from the Israeli military that have been placed twice in the last week.

He asked for his name not to be mentioned for fear of his security. “We had to flee by foot as there were so many cars blocking the road”.

Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said :“Overnight our forces returned the bodies of six of our hostages that had been held by the murderous Hamas terrorist organization: Avraham Munder, Alex Dancyg, Chaim Peri, Yagev Buchshtav, Yoram Metzger and Nadav Popplewell – of blessed memory.

“Our hearts grieve over the terrible loss. My wife Sara and I convey our heartfelt condolences to the dear families.I would like to thank the brave IDF and ISA fighters and commanders for their heroism and determined action.”

The war in Gaza was triggered by an attack by Hamas inside southern Israel on 7 October that killed around 1,200 people, with another 250 people taken hostage.

More than 100 hostages were released in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned in Israel during a week-long ceasefire last year. Israel belives around 110 hostages are still in Gaza, but believes around 30 are dead.

Israel’s bombardment of Gaza that has followed the Hamas attack has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, according health officials in the strip. Air and ground operations have caused widespread destruction and forced the vast majority of the enclave’s 2.3 million residents to flee their homes, many multiple times.

*A pseudonym was used as the interviewee was concerned about reprisals from security services.