Bodies of 5 Israelis were in tunnel in Gaza’s Israeli-designated humanitarian zone

Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent

IDF troops are seen at the entrance to a tunnel in southern Gaza's Khan Younis where the bodies of five Israeli hostages were held, July 24, 2024 (Israel Defense Forces)
IDF troops are seen at the entrance to a tunnel in southern Gaza's Khan Younis where the bodies of five Israeli hostages were held, July 24, 2024 (Israel Defense Forces)

The bodies of five Israeli hostages brought back to Israel yesterday were recovered from a tunnel located in the Israeli-designated humanitarian zone in the southern Gaza Strip.

The IDF ahead of the operation in Khan Younis adjusted the zone and ordered Palestinian civilians in the part where the tunnel was located to temporarily evacuate.

In the operation yesterday, the bodies of Ravid Katz, 51, Oren Goldin, 33, Maya Goren, 56, Sgt. Kiril Brodski, 19, and Staff Sgt. Tomer Yaakov Ahimas, 20 — all of whom were killed on October 7 — were recovered.

The IDF says that in recent weeks it obtained intelligence, including from Shin Bet interrogations of detained terrorists in Gaza, on the location of the tunnel where Hamas was holding the bodies of the hostages.

The tunnel was 200 meters long and about 20 meters deep, and featured several rooms where the bodies were being held, according to the military.

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