An IDF investigation has determined that six hostages abducted by Hamas were likely executed by their captors amid an airstrike on a Hamas tunnel in Khan Younis, Gaza. As YWN reported at the time, the bodies of the hostages were recovered on August 20, over three months after their deaths. YWN had reported at the time that they had been executed as their bodies were found riddled with bullets, and the IDF is releasing confirmed details now. The victims, identified as Alex Dancyg, 75, Yagev Buchshtav, 35, Chaim Peri, 79, Yoram Metzger, 80, Nadav Popplewell, 51, and Avraham Munder, 78, were taken hostage during Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. After their abduction, they were transported to a central tunnel beneath the Hamad Town residential complex in Khan Younis, where they were held until late December. The IDF investigation revealed that the tunnel, which included fortified holding cells, was targeted during Israeli airstrikes aimed at Hamas’s extensive underground network. It is believed the hostages were executed by their captors to prevent their rescue during the strike. IDF forces accessed the tunnel in January, finding evidence of its use as a detention site. The hostages’ remains were eventually retrieved in August following months of military efforts to locate them amid the sprawling tunnel system used by Hamas for operations and detentions. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)