Who were the 6 hostages killed in Gaza?
Israeli officials said the bodies of six hostages were recovered Saturday.
LONDON -- Israeli officials on Sunday said they recovered the bodies of six hostages in Gaza, adding that each appeared to have been killed "shortly" before they were found -- a development that sparked mass protests and ratcheted up tensions in the Middle East.
The bodies of Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi and Master Sgt. Ori Danino were recovered in a tunnel in Rafah by the Israel Defense Forces and the Israel Securities Authority, IDF officials said in a statement. Three of those killed were supposed to be released in the first phase of a cease-fire deal, according to a proposal from July.
"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."
Their bodies were found as the latest round of cease-fire discussions appears to have reached an impasse. Hamas blamed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the hostages' deaths, saying Israel insists on continuing the war and "evading" a cease-fire agreement. There are 97 hostages remaining in Gaza.
Hersh Goldberg-Polin
Goldberg-Polin, a 23-year-old Israeli-American, was taken hostage by Hamas at the Supernova music festival in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Goldberg-Polin was a "curious," "laid-back person" who "loves learning about people and the world," his mother, Rachel Goldberg, told ABC News' "Good Morning America" a few weeks after he was taken hostage.
President Joe Biden in a statement said he was "devastated and outraged," adding that he had gotten to know Goldberg and Hersh's father, Jonathan Polin.
"[Hersh] lost his arm helping friends and strangers during Hamas’ savage massacre," Biden said. "He had just turned 23. He planned to travel the world."
Goldberg-Polin's funeral procession began in Israel on Monday morning.
Carmel Gat
Gat, 40, was taken hostage from her parents' home in Kibbutz Be’eri, where she grew up, according to the Hostage and Missing Families Forum, a group calling for the return of all hostages taken by Hamas.
"Kineret, her mother, was murdered and [Gat] was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists," the Forum said.
"There [are] a kind of small moments of let's say happiness and assurance that everything can happen and we can bring everyone home back because some of them got back, but besides that, it's really horrible, horrific," Or Gat, Carmel’s brother, told ABC News in December 2023.
Eden Yerushalmi
Yerushalmi, 24, was working as a bartender at the Nova Music Festival on Oct. 7, according to Israeli officials.
“We share with great sorrow that our beloved Eden was murdered in Hamas captivity," her family said in a statement released by Israel on Sunday.
An Israeli security official confirmed to ABC News on Sunday that Goldberg-Polin, Gat and Yerushalmi appeared in a July draft of the cease-fire deal as being slated for release in the first phase of the proposed agreement.
Alexander Lobanov
Lobanov, 32, was from the southern coastal city of Ashkelon. He is survived by his two-year-old child and five-month-old children, the youngest having been born while he was in captivity in Gaza.
Lobanov was taken from the Nova festival on Oct. 7, where he was working as a bar manager, according to the Hostage and Missing Families Forum. Witnesses said Lobanov helped others escape the attack, fleeing with a group to the nearby Be'eri forest where he was captured by militants.
Almog Sarusi
Sarusi, 27, was from the city of Ra’anana -- just to the north of Tel Aviv -- and one of four siblings. He was also kidnapped from the Nova festival, which he was attending with his girlfriend of five years, Shahar. Sarusi was captured by militants while trying to help the wounded Shahar, who did not survive.
Sarusi was described on the Hostages and Missing Families Forum’s Instagram page as "a vibrant, positive person who loved traveling around Israel in his white jeep with his guitar.”
Master Sgt. Ori Danino
Danino, 25, was from Jerusalem and the eldest of five siblings. He was engaged to his partner Liel. He had been planning to begin academic studies in electrical engineering.
Danino -- an off-duty noncommissioned officer -- was captured at the Nova music festival, having driven back into the area to help others escape the unfolding attack.
“Ori was known for his ambition, love for people, and was beloved by all,” an Instagram post by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said. “He loved nature and was very handy.”
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," said Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, an Israel Defense Forces spokesperson.