War in the Middle East
Updated December 24, 2023, 10:30 pm
Israeli soldiers search a tunnel that the military said was used by Hamas militants to attack the Erez border crossing in the northern Gaza Strip. (File image from December 15) © picture Alliance/dpa/AP/Ariel Schalit
The Israeli army claims to have recovered the bodies of a total of five hostages in a network of tunnels in the northern Gaza Strip.
A total of five kidnapped hostages were found dead in a tunnel system in the Gaza Strip. The remains of the men and women kidnapped in Israel on October 7 were found in a very extensive and deep tunnel system in the area of the Jabalia refugee district, the military announced Sunday. According to the Jerusalem Post, two of the bodies were found two weeks ago and three more a few days later.
Tunnel system was destroyed after discovery
The network of tunnels served as a command center for the Islamist group Hamas in the northern Gaza Strip, the army said in a statement. According to spokesman Daniel Hagari, the attacks on Israel on October 7 were coordinated from there. The military's information could not initially be independently verified.
The tunnel network consisted of two floors – one about ten meters underground and one below, several tens of meters deep into the ground. Weapons, weapons-making equipment and accommodation were found there. The army also released video footage of the tunnel system. The military said the tunnels were destroyed.
The Gaza war was triggered by the worst massacre in Israel's history, which terrorists from Hamas and other extremist groups carried out in Israel on October 7th. According to the Hamas-controlled health authority in Gaza, more than 20,000 people have been killed in the coastal area since then. Given the high number of civilian casualties, the military operation has been heavily criticized internationally. (dpa/sbi)
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