Israel recovered the bodies of hostages Nadav Popplewell, Yagev Buchshtab, Yoram Metzger, Haim Peri, Alexander Dancyg, and Avraham Munder from the Khan Yunis area in Gaza, who were murdered in Hamas captivity, the IDF announced on Tuesday.
The rescue operation was conducted by the IDF's 98th Division and carried out by the Paratroopers Brigade, 'Yahalom' Unit, and the 75th Battalion, along with ISA forces. The operation was done under military intelligence, ISA, and the IDF Intelligence Directorate Hostage Headquarters.
It was announced by Kibbutz Nirim earlier that the bodies of Popplewell and Buchshtab were retrieved from Gaza. Similarly, Kibbutz Nir Oz announced earlier that morning that the bodies of Peri, Metzger, and Dancyg were also retrieved. Munder was believed to be alive until Kibbutz Nir Oz announced his death while in Gaza captivity.
The National Institute of Forensic Medicine, Israel Police, and the IDF Manpower Directorate's Hostage Team conducted an identification procedure of the bodies and notified their families and communities.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum stressed that the only way to return the 109 hostages is through a negotiated deal.
Nadav Popplewell
Popplewell, 51 years old, was kidnapped from Nirim on October 7. In June, the IDF announced he had been killed in Hamas captivity.
Kibbutz Nirim said that he loved books and science fiction.
Popplewell was taken hostage along with his mother, Channah Peri, who was released in the November hostage deal following 49 days in Gaza captivity. Both were taken from their home's safe room. Popplewell's brother Roi, aged 54, was murdered on October 7.
Yagev Buchshtab
Buchshtab, 35 years old, was seized from Kibbutz Nirim on October 7 along with his wife Rimon Kirsht Buchshtab, 36, who was released on November 28, as part of the hostage deal.
In July, the IDF announced he had been killed in Gaza captivity. Buchshtab was a sound technician and had a passion for music.
Yoram Metzger
Metzger, 80 years old, was seized from Nir Oz on October 7. In June, the IDF announced he had been killed while in Hamas captivity. He is survived by his wife, Tamar, who was kidnapped along with him and released in the November hostage deal, three children, and seven grandchildren.
At the kibbutz, Yoram worked in the Nirlat factory and as a kibbutz mechanic.
Haim Peri
Peri, 79, was kidnapped from kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7. In June, the IDF announced he had been killed in Hamas captivity.
"On the day of the massacre in the kibbutz, Haim managed to save his wife Asnat before being kidnapped himself. He survived in inhumane conditions in the Hamas tunnels for months, until he was brutally murdered in captivity," the kibbutz wrote in a statement on Tuesday.
Peri was a father of five, a grandfather to 13, a peace activist, and founder of an art gallery. He also taught at Sapir College.
Alexander Dancyg
Dancyg, 76 years old, was kidnapped from Nir Oz on October 7. In July, the IDF announced he had been killed in Gaza captivity.
Born to Holocaust survivors, Dancyg was an educator and historian who worked at Yad Vashem for nearly 30 years. He was one of the founders of educational delegations to Poland and led many of them.
Avraham Munder
Munder was kidnapped from kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7. On Tuesday, kibbutz Nir Oz announced he had been killed in Gaza captivity. Munder fought and was wounded in the Six-Day War, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.
Munder's nephew told KAN Reshet Bet earlier that his uncle's body had been recovered from Gaza and that "it's sad that a person who participated in liberating Jerusalem and answered the call to develop communities in the Negev had his life ended by being thrown aside in a tunnel in Khan Yunis."
He lived in Kibbutz Nir Oz for more than 50 years and took part in the Eshkol choir.
He was kidnapped to the Gaza Strip on October 7 along with his wife Ruti, his daughter Keren, and his nine-year-old grandson Ohad, who were released in the November hostage deal following 49 days in captivity.
Eve Young and Yonah Jeremy Bob contributed to this report.