How the IDF found the bodies of 6 hostages hidden in a secret Hamas tunnel
With specific, but limited intel, IDF quickly took control of a Khan Younis neighborhood; then found a loose panel in a false tunnel wall, leading to the spot where the bodies were
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
Nearly 10 months after they were abducted by Hamas terrorists, and months after they are believed to have died in captivity, the Israel Defense Forces early on Tuesday recovered the bodies of six Israeli hostages in a swiftly organized operation in the southern Gaza Strip.
It was the most rapidly effected such operation to date by the military amid the ongoing war against Hamas, indicating a growing ability of the IDF to swiftly utilize intelligence, operational capabilities and hard-won experience operating inside Hamas’s vast tunnel network.
The deceased hostages brought back to Israel on Tuesday morning were Alex Dancyg, 75, Yagev Buchshtav, 35, Chaim Peri, 79, Yoram Metzger, 80, Nadav Popplewell, 51, and Avraham Munder, 78. All but Munder had previously been confirmed dead by the IDF. Munder was hitherto presumed alive, although the IDF did have information raising concern for his wellbeing.
Sources in the Israel Defense Forces said the speedily orchestrated recovery operation indicated the army’s ability to quickly establish control of areas it previously withdrew from. The IDF had operated in Khan Younis for four months earlier this year before withdrawing.
Early Sunday, the IDF’s 98th Division expanded a new ongoing operation in Khan Younis — launched a week earlier — including quickly changing the offensive to another area of the city in southern Gaza.
By early Monday, the division had achieved “operational control” over one of the neighborhoods where the bodies of the hostages were believed to be held.
The IDF had relatively precise intelligence on the tunnel where the bodies of the hostages were held, although not an exact location.
With limited intelligence, combat engineers set out to search four different locations in the neighborhood.
However, within less than 24 hours, troops located a 10-meter-deep tunnel shaft that led to a tunnel system in the area. One team had spotted various indications of where the bodies were being held, according to the military.
Overnight between Monday and Tuesday, the bodies were found and extracted from the Strip, making it the fastest operation to recover hostages’ bodies so far amid the war. Previous operations to recover the bodies of hostages have taken several days, in comparison.
Hamas had attempted to hide the remains of the hostages, placing them in an underground passage that was hidden behind a false wall inside the tunnel system. Troops searching the tunnel found a loose panel in the wall, which led them to the hidden passage.
The IDF said combat engineers of the elite Yahalom unit and members of the Shin Bet security agency managed to breach blast doors and other blockages inside the tunnel, where in addition to the bodies they also located weapons, explosive devices, and other equipment belonging to Hamas terrorists.
The IDF said the recovery mission was carried out following fighting in the area, during which troops scanned buildings and killed several gunmen, and within a short time established operational control.
Some of the terrorists who had been guarding the tunnel fled, while other apparent guards were killed fighting troops in the surrounding area, according to military sources.
The troops found weapons on several dead terror operatives within a few hundred meters of the tunnel where the bodies were held, close to some of the shafts that led to the underground passages. Military sources said those gunmen were likely guarding the area of the tunnel.
The bodies of the apparent guards were also taken to Israel along with the remains of the hostages for identification, as the IDF wanted to be certain that no hostages were left behind.
All six hostages are known to have been taken to Gaza alive during the Hamas-led invasion and slaughter in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, and were killed over the course of the 10-month-long war.
Dancyg and Buchshtav had been confirmed dead by the IDF in late July, while Peri, Metzger, and Popplewell were declared dead by the army in early June.
The five were believed to have been killed in Khan Younis in early 2024, although the causes of death are not known.
Munder had not been previously declared dead by the IDF, although the army had some information that had raised concern for his wellbeing. Until Tuesday morning, he had been listed among the hostages presumed alive.
With the bodies recovered, the IDF said it would continue to investigate the causes of the men’s deaths, including the possibility that some or all of the six were killed directly or indirectly by Israeli fire amid previous military operations in Khan Younis.
It is now believed that 105 of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza, including the bodies of 34 confirmed dead by the IDF. Hamas is also holding two Israeli civilians who entered the Strip in 2014 and 2015, as well as the bodies of two IDF soldiers who were killed in 2014.
