Five of the hostages were found dead by IDF soldiers in Jabaliya in the northern Gaza Strip and repatriated to Israel for burial: Elia Toledano z'l, Eden Zacharia z'l and three soldiers Ron Shermer z'l, Nick Beizer z'l and Ziv Dado z'l.
The IDF released this evening (Sunday) details of the operation that led to the rescue of these bodies, as well as images of the tunnel where they were found.
During this operation, militants uncovered a strategic network of tunnels serving Hamas's Northern Command. The underground command post consisted of two levels: the first at a depth of 10 meters underground and the second at a depth of 20 meters. This network consisted of branches that allowed terrorists to fight and move.
In this command post, Israeli soldiers found weapons, weapons production facilities and rooms where they could hide in case of an emergency. The network led to an entrance that led to the home of Hamas Northern Battalion commander Ahmed Ghandour, who was eliminated by the IDF on November 26.
This network of tunnels ran under a school and a hospital and served as a protective shield.
Thanks to teamwork between fighters and intelligence services, soldiers were able to recover the bodies of the five hostages. The officer leading the operation reminded his soldiers in advance of the importance of such an operation to enable the burial of these victims. When the remains were recovered, the soldiers recited the Kadish for these five people murdered by Hamas.