The Israeli military said it has recovered the bodies of six hostages taken by Hamas in the October 7 attack that started the Gaza war.
The recovery came as the United States, Egypt and Qatar are trying to mediate a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas which would see the release of scores of hostages held by the militant group.
The military said in a statement that its forces recovered the bodies in an overnight operation in southern Gaza.
It said it had identified the remains of Haim Perry, 80, Yoram Metzger, 80, Avraham Munder, 79, Alexander Dancyg, 76, Nadav Popplewell, 51, and Yagev Buchshtav, 35.
Four had family members who were released during a week-long ceasefire in November.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the recovery effort and said “our hearts ache for the terrible loss”.
“The State of Israel will continue to make every effort to return all of our hostages — both alive and dead,” he said in a statement.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant also praised the operation, which he said had been carried out inside Hamas’s vast tunnel network.
There were no immediate reports of any casualties among Israelis or Palestinians in the recovery operation.
Hamas is still believed to be holding around 110 hostages captured in the October 7 attack. Israeli authorities estimate around a third of them are dead.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is making his ninth visit to the region since the start of the war, said on Monday that Mr Netanyahu has accepted a proposal to bridge gaps in the ceasefire talks, and called on Hamas to do the same.
Hamas has accused the United States of embracing Israeli demands and trying to impose them on the militant group.
Hamas-led militants burst through Israel’s defences on October 7 and rampaged across the south, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking around 250 people hostage.
More than 100 hostages were released in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned in Israel during a week-long ceasefire last year.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many were militants.
Air and ground operations have caused widespread destruction and forced the vast majority of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents to flee their homes.
The mediators have been trying to finalise a proposal for a three-phase process in which Hamas would release all the hostages in return for the release of more Palestinian prisoners, an Israeli withdrawal from the territory and a lasting truce. But there still appears to be wide gaps between the two sides.
