Israeli forces retrieved the bodies of five hostages from a tunnel in the southern Gaza Strip, the military said on Thursday, amid growing international and domestic pressure for a cease-fire deal that would lead to the release of the remaining captives.
The bodies were found on Wednesday in a zone around the city of Khan Younis that Israel previously designated as a humanitarian area where Gazan civilians could go to avoid the fighting and to receive aid, the military said. The tunnel shaft was nearly 220 yards long and more than 20 yards underground, with several rooms, the military said.
Israel has said that Hamas — which led the attack on Israel on Oct. 7 that prompted the war in Gaza — has exploited the designated humanitarian zone to launch rockets at Israel, as well as to use it for other military purposes. Aid groups have lamented that Israel has struck the area despite telling Gazans they would be safer there. Hamas had no immediate response.
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The five hostages — Maya Goren, 56; Ravid Katz, 51; Oren Goldin, 33; Tomer Ahimas, 20; and Kiril Brodski, 19 — had already been presumed dead by Israeli officials.
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Mr. Brodski and Mr. Ahimas were soldiers who were killed during the Hamas-led attack in October, while the other three were civilians whose bodies were taken to Gaza as bargaining chips, Israeli officials said.
