As the Israel-Hamas war continues, the latest round of cease-fire discussions continues in the Middle East, even with Hamas rejecting the latest iteration over the weekend.
The United States and its allies continue to plead for a cease-fire deal.
Cease-fire proposal included release of 3 hostages before deaths, official says
An Israeli security official confirmed to ABC News that the names of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Carmel Gat and Eden Yerushalmi appeared in a July draft of the cease-fire deal as being slated for release in the first phase of the proposed agreement.
Goldberg-Polin was listed because of an injury to his arm, while Gat and Yerushalmi were included as they were women, the official said.
All three were among the six bodies recovered by Israeli forces from a tunnel in southern Gaza on Saturday.
This combination of pictures created on Sept. 1, 2024, shows undated portraits provided by The Hostages Families Forum Headquarters, showing hostages (clockwork from top-L) Almog Sarusi, Alex Lubnov, Carmel Gat, Ori Danino, Eden Yerushalmi and Hersh Goldberg-Polin at unspecified locations
The Hostages Families Forum Headquarters/AFP via Getty Images
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and Victoria Beaule
Sep 01, 2024, 4:25 AM EDT
Gallant demands Netanyahu 'reverse' Gaza position
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has called on the country's security cabinet to "convene immediately" after the bodies of six hostages -- among them American Hersh Goldberg-Polin -- were recovered from Gaza on Saturday.
"It's too late for the abductees who were murdered in cold blood," Gallant wrote on X. "The abductees who remain in the captivity of Hamas must be returned home."
Gallant said the security cabinet should "reverse" Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's reported decision last week to retain military control of the Philadelphi Corridor, a nine-mile stretch of territory running along the Gaza-Egypt frontier.
In this file photo, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant sit during a press conference in the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Oct. 28, 2023.
Abir Sultan/Pool via Reuters
Hamas cease-fire negotiators are demanding that Israeli forces withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor as part of a hostage-release deal.
"The state of Israel will reckon with all the leaders and murderers of Hamas, down to the last one," Gallant added in his X post.
-ABC News' Jordana Miller and David Brennan
Sep 01, 2024, 3:05 AM EDT
6 hostages 'brutally murdered' shortly before discovery, IDF says
The six hostages whose bodies were recovered Saturday in Gaza appeared to have died "shortly before" they were found, the Israeli military said Sunday.
"According to the initial assessment we have, they were brutally murdered by Hamas terrorists shortly before we reached them," Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, an Israel Defense Forces spokesperson, said on Sunday.
A woman walks near a poster showing Eden Yerushalmi, who was taken hostage by Hamas during the Oct. 7 attacks, and whose body has been recovered from a tunnel in the Rafah area of the Gaza Strip, in Tel Aviv, Israel Sept. 1, 2024.
Florion Goga/Reuters
The bodies were discovered in a tunnel in Rafah, the densely populated border city in southern Gaza, Hagari said. They were found about a kilometer from where Farhan Al-Qadi, another hostage, was rescued days earlier, he added.
"Since the location of Farhan Al-Qadi, the forces have been given emphasis on careful and controlled action, even more than usual, with the understanding that there may be other abductees in the area," Hagari said. "We did not have information about the exact location of the abductees."
Fighting between Israel and Hamas had been ongoing on Saturday above ground in the area where the bodies were discovered, he said.
A woman walks near a poster showing Alexander Lobanov, who was taken hostage by Hamas during the Oct. 7 attacks, and whose body has been recovered from a tunnel in the Rafah area of the Gaza Strip, in Tel Aviv, Israel Sept. 1, 2024.
Florion Goga/Reuters
The families of hostages released on Sunday a statement mourning the dead and condemning the Israeli politicians who they said they believe are slow-walking and blocking a cease-fire and hostage-return deal.
"A deal for the return of the hostages has been on the table for over two months," the statement said. "Were it not for the delays, sabotage, and excuses those whose deaths we learned about this morning would likely still be alive."
-ABC News' Jordana Miller, Anna Burd, Victoria Beaule and Kevin Shalvey
Sep 01, 2024, 1:14 AM EDT
6 bodies recovered in Gaza identified as hostages, Israel says
Six bodies recovered in Gaza on Saturday were those of hostages taken by Hamas, Israeli officials said Sunday.
The bodies of Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi and Master Sgt. Ori Danino were recovered by the Israel Defense Forces and the Israel Securities Authority, IDF officials said in a statement posted on social media.
People demonstrate against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government and to call for the release of hostages in Gaza, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Aug. 31, 2024.
Florion Goga/Reuters
The bodies were located in "an underground tunnel in the Rafah area in the Gaza Strip," the statement said.
"They were all taken hostage on October 7 and were murdered by the Hamas terrorist organization while in captivity in Gaza," the statement said. "The IDF and ISA send their heartfelt condolences to the families. Israeli security forces are operating with all means to bring home all the hostages as fast as possible."
The bodies were returned to Israeli territory, the statement said.
