‘Killing’ of six hostages by Hamas in Gaza sparks anger, massive protest in Israel: Who were they?

In a shocking discovery, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) recovered bodies of six dead hostages from the Gaza Strip, triggering anger and protests in Israel.

According to the Health Ministry, the hostages were killed 48 to 72 hours prior to their autopsy or between Thursday and Friday morning.

The Abu Kabir Forensic Institute, which carried out the autopsy, revealed that they were shot several times at close range.

In a press conference, IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari stated Hamas terrorists “brutally murdered” the hostages, and their bodies were found by troops from a Rafah tunnel on Saturday afternoon.

“According to an initial assessment… they were brutally murdered by Hamas terrorists a short while before we reached them. They were abducted alive on the morning of October 7 by the Hamas terror group,” Hagari said.

In contrast to IDF’s statement, senior Hamas leader Khalil Al-Hayya has blamed Netanyahu for the death of hostages. In an interview with Al Jazeera, Al-Hayya stated, ” “Netanyahu and his extremist government are the reason they lost their lives.”

Without providing any evidence for his claims, he went on to say that the Israeli “strikes along with those who were sitting, guarding, and living with them.”

Israel hit by demonstrations, national strike declared

Sunday saw demonstrators taking to the streets in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and other cities as families laid their loved ones to rest. They expressed their anger against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his administration for failing to broker an agreement for the release of the hostages that Hamas had taken during the October 7 attacks.

According to US and Israeli authorities, some of the now-dead hostages were anticipated to be freed as part of a final ceasefire agreement, CNN reported.

The deceased have been identified as Carmel Gat (39), Alexander Lobanov (32), Almog Sarusi (26), Ori Danino (25), Eden Yerushalmi (24) and Hersh Goldberg-Polin (23). Five of the six hostages were captured from the music festival, and the sixth was abducted from a nearby kibbutz.

The Histadrut labor union’s leader, Arnon Bar-David, declared a national strike for Monday in an effort to put pressure on the government to reach a ceasefire agreement.

Of the 251 captives taken by Hamas on October 7, it is believed that 97 are still in Gaza, while the IDF has confirmed the death of 33 people so far.

All you need to know about the six deceased hostages

Hersh Goldberg-Polin

Hersh Goldberg-Polin, an American-Israeli, attended the Nova music festival in southern Israel. When Hamas started its strike, he took refuge in a bomb bunker along with his 3 pals. Two of them died in the attack while one survived.

According to CNN, Hamas threw grenades into the bunker, and Goldberg-Polin hurried to remove them. In the midst of this, his arm blew off. He was taken captive by Hamas when the firing subsided.

He was carried onto a pick-up truck that day, with a portion of his left arm missing, according to a Hamas video. He was even seen in a hostage film made public by the Palestinian militant group six months after he was taken captive.

He urged his parents to stay strong and he had been “here for almost 200 days.”

Goldberg-Polin shifted to Israel from the US at the age of seven with his parents, Jonathan and Rachel. Being the elder sibling of two sisters, his aspirations were to become a chef and explore the world. According to his relatives, he enjoys music and soccer. They described him as a “happy-go-lucky” and “good-humored” person, CNN reported.

Meanwhile, his “devastated” family announced the death of their beloved in a heart-broken statement. The family urged for privacy and thanked everyone for their love and support.

Goldberg-Polin was among the hostages who were anticipated to be freed during the initial rounds of the eventual ceasefire negotiations.

Almog Sarusi

Almog Sarusi was the music producer from Israel’s Raanana. He was accompanied by his fiancée Shahar Gindi at the Noval festival. When the couple attempted to flee, Gindi was shot and suffered serious injuries. Despite his attempts to save her life, she died and he was taken away by Hamas.

Alexander Lobanov

Alexander Lobanov, 32-year-old Israeli-Russian, was the festival’s head bartender. Before being captured, he and five other people hid in an olive grove, the family stated.

He shared two kids with his wife Michal, who gave birth to their second child in March. Unfortunately, Lobanov, the son of disabled parents, never saw his second child.

Carmel Gat

Carmel Gat, the 39-year-old occupational therapist who had just returned to Israel from India, was abducted along with her other family members from her parental home in Beeri kibbutz.

She reportedly taught some of the freed hostages yoga.

Gat’s mother died following the Hamas bombings, and her sister-in-law Yarden Roman-Gat was abducted and later released in November.

Eden Yerushalmi

Eden Yerushalmi, 24, was employed as a bartender at the Nova festival.

According to her sister Shani, she called her family on October 7 and shrieked that she was afraid and had witnessed armed men attack the festival. She failed in her attempts to hide and escape, and her last words before being taken to Gaza were: “Shani, they found me.”

As per the Hostages Families Forum, an activist group that represents the families of abductees imprisoned in Gaza, she was pursuing her education to become a pilates instructor.

Ori Danino

Ori Danino, a 25-year-old soldier, was abducted by Hamas when he went back to the Nova festival to free his pals Omer Shemtov, Maya, and Itay Regev, who were taken captive.

A one-week truce in November saw the release of Maya Regev and her brother Itay, while Omer Shemtov remains in detention in Gaza.

Danino, the brother of five siblings, was the eldest son of Elchanan and Einav Danin.

He was engaged and wanted to pursue his studies in electrical engineering studies.