What we know about the six hostages found dead in the Hamas tunnels
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Israel is mourning six slain hostages who were kidnapped by Hamas on Oct. 7. On Sunday, Israel announced the recovery of the bodies of four men and two women. Ori Danino, Carmel Gat, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi and Eden Yerushalmi were among the estimated 251 hostages taken in the Hamas attacks.
According to Israel’s Health Ministry, they were killed by close-range gunshots. The recovery of their bodies has prompted widespread outcry for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to work toward the immediate release of the remaining 64 hostages, who are believed to be alive and held in the Gaza Strip, reports The Washington Post.
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Here is who they were:
Ori Danino, 25
Danino, the oldest of five siblings was planning to become an engineer, according to the Forum. It described him as a nature lover known for his ambition and love for people.
He was kidnapped from the music festival while attempting to rescue two of his siblings, the Forum added. The siblings were released during November’s ceasefire.
Eden Yerushalmi, 24
Yerushalmi was a “vibrant young woman” from Tel Aviv, according to a statement from the Hostage Families Forum, an organization advocating for the hostages’ release, reports the Post.
She was studying to become a Pilates instructor before her abduction, the forum said.
On Oct. 7, Yerushalmi was working as a bartender at the Supernova music festival. She hid motionless in a car alongside the bodies of friends who had been shot and killed. She then hid in nearby bushes while speaking with her sisters for several hours by phone but was found and taken by Hamas.
She turned 24 in captivity.
Carmel Gat, 40
Gat, 40, was an occupational therapist from Tel Aviv. She was visiting her parents for the Simchat Torah holiday at Kibbutz Be’eri in southern Israel when Hamas kidnapped her. Her mother, Kinneret, was killed.
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Gat was a fan of live rock music concerts and liked to travel, according to the Hostage Families Forum. Hostages returned to Israel during a temporary cease-fire in November described Gat as a “guardian angel” who taught meditation and yoga to help them endure their internment, states the Forum.
Her brother Alon, sister-in-law Yarden Roman-Gat and niece Geffen were also captured. Her brother and niece were able to escape, while her sister-in-law was released in the November ceasefire when 105 hostages were freed.
Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23
Goldberg-Polin, an Israeli American citizen born in California and raised in Jerusalem, became one of the public faces of the hostages. His parents, Rachel Goldberg and Jon Polin spoke at the Democratic National Convention last month, ending their speech with a message to their son to stay strong and survive.
Goldberg-Polin was attending the Supernova music festival to celebrate his birthday. He tried to escape by car, but Hamas was setting up roadblocks and shooting at approaching vehicles.
He hid in a public bomb shelter as the fighters threw grenades and fired weapons at it, reports the Post, emerging with his arm missing from the elbow down and a tourniquet.
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On April 24, Hamas released a video of Goldberg-Polin showing his amputated hand, according to the Forum.
Alexander Lobanov, 32
Lobanov was from Ashkelon, a city on the Mediterranean coast. He was working as head bartender at the music festival.
According to the hostage forum, Lobanov helped evacuate other people from the festival, running with five others into a nearby forest. The others escaped but Lobanov was captured.
He was married with a two-year-old child when he was taken. His wife, Michal, has since given birth to the couple’s second child.
Almog Sarusi, 27
Sarusi was from central Israel. He loved travelling in a white jeep and played guitar, the forum said. He was taken from the Supernova festival, while his girlfriend was murdered by Hamas.
The forum described him as a “vibrant, positive person”.
His mother, Nira, spoke at his funeral on the weekend, Israeli media reports.
“How we prayed to hug you, to see your smile. We hoped to see you happy, surrounded by family and friends but you were abandoned, day by day,” she said, criticizing the Israeli government for failing to negotiate the hostages’ release.
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