Hamas released a video of the six hostages who were murdered, one day after they were found by the Israeli armed forces.
In the video, which was released on Telegram, the hostages confirm their identities while speaking to a camera. The video cuts off, and Hamas warns that it will publish their “final messages” before they were murdered.
The video ends with a threat that the message will be released in the coming hours.
Biden prepares a “take it or leave it” ultimatum to Israel and Hamas for a ceasefire.
The latest developments in the Biden administration’s efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement and secure the release of hostages have taken on a sense of urgency following the discovery of the bodies of six Hamas hostages by Israeli forces.
In this context, as reported by the Washington Post, Joe Biden’s administration, in collaboration with Egypt and Qatar, is working intensively to finalize a “take it or leave it” proposal, which will be presented to the parties involved in the coming weeks.
Israeli forces announced that the hostages were executed shortly before they were discovered in a tunnel beneath the city of Rafah in southern Gaza. According to an American assessment, the six hostages were shot in the head by their captors, indicating that the discovery of their bodies was not accidental but part of a broader plan.
Who were the six hostages?
The six hostages are Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi, and Ori Danino.
Their bodies were recovered by the Israeli army on Sunday morning from the Rafah area in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli Ministry of Health confirmed that they were shot at close range and murdered either on Thursday or early Friday morning.
A total of 133 hostages with Israeli citizenship remain captive. Last year, after a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, over 100 hostages were released.
Approximately 250 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage by Hamas fighters, who killed about 1,200 people in the deadliest attack in the history of the Jewish state.
