Autopsy reports on Sunday revealed that the six Israeli hostages, Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Hersh Goldberg-Polin (an American-Israeli), Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi, and Master Sergeant Ori Danino, whose bodies were found in a Hamas tunnel underneath Gaza on Saturday, had been shot in the head within the last 48 hours.
Hamas is believed to have murdered the hostages as they thought the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers were approaching.
According to IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, although the soldiers did not have the exact location of the hostages, they had rescued one nearby last week and were engaged in fighting above ground at that location.
“According to our initial assessment, they were brutally murdered by Hamas terrorists shortly before we reached them,” Hagari said Sunday morning.
Ynetnews.com reported:
All six hostages whose bodies were discovered and recovered from Gaza on Sunday were found with gunshot wounds to their head and other areas, their autopsies showed.
According to the post-mortem, they were executed no more than 48 hours before being found and signs of neglect in captivity were found on their bodies.
Except for one of the hostages, who showed signs of being bound, no evidence of torture was found. However, the condition of their bodies indicated systematic neglect, including a lack of hygiene over a long period. Additionally, indications were present of previous injuries sustained during their abduction, which had been treated over time.
Israel’s Army Radio pointed out that this is not the first instance during the conflict in which Palestinian terrorists have killed Israeli hostages to thwart rescue attempts.
Notably, in the notorious 1972 Munich Olympics attack, terrorists killed Israeli athletes they had captured when West German police tried to intervene.
In a separate incident on Sunday, three Israeli police officers were killed in a drive-by shooting near a checkpoint in the West Bank region of Judea by a Palestinian terrorist.
The tragic conclusion of the story of the six Israeli hostages, brutally murdered by Hamas terrorists, has left a deep sense of grief and outrage.
The autopsy reports revealing the horrifying details of their deaths have shocked both the Israeli nation and the international community. The fact that these innocent individuals were executed within 48 hours before being found speaks to the callousness and brutality of their captors.
The signs of neglect and previous injuries sustained during their abduction paint a harrowing picture of their suffering in captivity.
It is a stark reminder of the inhumanity that can occur during times of conflict, as well as the lengths to which some will go to inflict pain and suffering on others.
The loss of these lives is a tragedy that reverberates far beyond the borders of Israel, serving as a reminder of the ongoing tensions in the region.
As we mourn their untimely deaths, it also underscores the urgent need for peaceful resolutions and an end to such senseless violence.
