Israel Says Five Hostages Killed in Hamas Captivity Found in Gaza Tunnel

Gaza Strip: The military claimed on Sunday that five Israeli captives who were executed by Hamas in captivity had been found in a network of subterranean tunnels in the northern Gaza Strip. The clip included images of a work area and bathroom with white tiles connected by passageways coated with black concrete.

With post-mortems still awaiting, top military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari left the issue of how they had died open in the publication. “We will brief the families and then, depending on what they approve, the public,” he said.

240 Palestinians were hauled back to the Gaza Strip by Hamas militants during the cross-border rampage on October 7, which set off the conflict, along with three soldiers and two civilians. Earlier this month, the military said that their corpses would be sent home.

Three of the prisoners were seen alive in a video released by Hamas last week. The footage showed the room as a small, windowless bedroom with white tiles and an electric wall outlet.

The Islamist organization sponsored by Iran declared in a Hebrew chyron, “Your military weapons killed the three.” The statement was addressed against Israel.

According to Hamas, several captives perished during Israel’s bombardment of Gaza. It has also made threats to put captives to death.

The military report on Sunday coincided with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s announcement that Israel will intensify operations in the nearly 12-week-old conflict, whose toll on Gazan civilians has outraged Western powers and raised concerns about the 129 captives still held captive.

The military produced the video that claimed to show its engineers in a network of tunnels that was both dark and dusty, with one story located 10 meters below the surface and the other “dozens of meters” below.

According to the Israeli military, one tunnel led to the residence of Ahmad Al Ghandour, the commander of Hamas’ North Gaza battalion. On November 26, Hamas proclaimed him and numerous other leaders dead in combat. Israel claimed that one of its airstrikes had targeted them.

In addition to a workspace with a corner table and bench and a similarly styled bathroom with a rudimentary shower, toilet, and sink, the video revealed a stretch of a tunnel coated with white tiles. There was a gunpole and a drinking water fountain in one tunnel.
The captives’ bedroom, whose ceiling seemed differently built while being likewise tiled in white, was not included in the military film.