From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, August 20, 2024
Sharing new details of mission to recover bodies of 6 hostages, IDF says it was fastest such operation of war
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
The recovery of the bodies of six Israeli hostages from the southern Gaza Strip overnight was the fastest such operation carried out by the military so far during the war, which IDF sources said indicated the army’s ability to quickly establish control of areas it previously withdrew from.
On Sunday, the IDF’s 98th Division expanded its operation in Khan Younis and by early Monday, it 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 the exact location.
According to the military, within less than 24 hours, combat engineers located a 10-meter deep tunnel shaft that led to a tunnel system in the area, with one team spotting various indications of where the bodies were being held.
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 which was hidden behind a false wall inside the tunnel system.
The IDF says combat engineers of the elite Yahalom unit and members of the Shin Bet security agency managed to break through the false wall, 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 says the recovery mission was carried out following fighting in the area, during which troops scanned buildings and killed several gunmen.
Some of the terrorists that had been guarding the tunnel had 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 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.
