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the israeli defense forces announced on september 1 that the six bodies found in the rafah tunnel in southern gaza the day before were israeli hostages held hostage by palestinian islamic resistance movement (hamas) militants in october 2023. they were "brutally murdered" before the israeli army arrived in the area. after the news was released, israeli society fell into anger. the families of the hostages demanded that prime minister netanyahu take responsibility, and opposition leaders accused netanyahu of putting personal political interests above the lives of the hostages. israeli defense minister galant also called on the government to withdraw its request to station troops on the border between gaza and egypt in order to reach a ceasefire agreement with hamas as soon as possible. hamas senior official rashik told the media on the 1st that the six hostages died in israeli bombing. according to the israeli newspaper haaretz, according to the recently negotiated ceasefire agreement in gaza, three of the six people were supposed to be released in the near future. amid the anger from all walks of life, netanyahu apologized on the 1st, but said he would continue to "pursue and arrest" hamas militants to "avenge" the hostages.

'the whole country is heartbroken'

the israeli military issued a statement on the social platform x on the 1st, announcing the identities of the six hostages. they are 4 men and 2 women, aged between 23 and 25, and 32 and 40 respectively. the military said that except for one person, the remaining five were taken away by hamas at a music festival in southern israel on october 7, 2023. the idf also stated that the six were killed a day or two before the israeli army found them.

the tragic news shocked israeli society. israeli president herzog issued a statement saying: "the whole country is heartbroken. on behalf of israel, i sincerely embrace their families and apologize for not being able to bring them home safely." the jerusalem post reported that netanyahu's office said that the prime minister said in a phone call with the hostages' families on the 1st: "i want to tell you that i am very sorry for not being able to bring them back alive, and i ask for forgiveness."

on august 31, the israel defense forces announced that they had found "many bodies" in southern gaza, saying that their identities had not yet been confirmed and asking the public "not to spread rumors." even so, the israeli media generally interpreted it as the military finding more hostages dead. the "forum of families of hostages and missing persons" issued a statement saying: "netanyahu has abandoned the hostages. this is a fact. starting tomorrow, the whole country will tremble. we call on the public to be prepared."

among the six hostages killed was a 23-year-old hersh goldberg-pollin, who had dual israeli and american citizenship. after the relevant information was released, us president biden issued a statement saying that he was "shocked and angry" about the incident. "this is both tragic and reprehensible. there is no doubt that hamas leaders will pay the price for these crimes." biden said that they will continue to work towards an agreement to ensure the release of the remaining detainees.

cnn stated that polin's death will reverberate not only in israel but also in the u.s. political circles. his parents regularly met with senior u.s. officials to put pressure on the hostage incident, closely linking the fate of the hostages with the u.s. policy on the gaza war.

agence france-presse said that as of now, 97 of the 251 israeli hostages kidnapped in october last year are still in gaza, of which at least 33 have been confirmed dead by the israel defense forces. according to official israeli statistics, the hamas attack in october 2023 killed 1,205 people in israel, most of whom were civilians. the gaza health department said that israel's attack has killed at least 40,738 people in gaza so far. the office of the united nations high commissioner for human rights said that most of the dead were women and children.

“they have blood on their hands”

israeli society reacted strongly to the deaths of more hostages. the "forum of families of hostages and missing persons" demanded that netanyahu "be held accountable for his mistakes, for his acts of sabotage, for his abandonment, and for the hostages who were murdered in captivity". the organization issued a statement saying that the agreement to release the hostages had been proposed for more than two months, and if it had not been delayed and sabotaged, the hostages might have returned home alive. "we call on the israeli people to hold a large-scale strike, demanding a complete shutdown of the country and the immediate implementation of the agreement to release the hostages."

on the evening of the 1st local time, the influential histadrut announced a nationwide general strike on the 2nd in response to the death of six hostages in gaza. according to the times of israel, the union's chairman, anon bar-david, said that the israeli hostages in gaza must be rescued and that the relevant agreement was in trouble "due to political considerations." "only our intervention can shake those who need to be shaken." "i call on the israeli people to take to the streets tonight and tomorrow, and everyone to join the strike." the tel aviv municipal government announced the closure of government agencies on the morning of the 2nd to allow employees to participate in the strike.

agence france-presse quoted an unnamed senior hamas official on the 1st as saying that among the six israeli hostages whose bodies were found in the gaza tunnel, several had been approved for release after a ceasefire agreement was reached. however, the ceasefire agreement was ultimately not reached, and the six hostages died in israel's "artillery fire and bombing."

israeli opposition leader lapid said on the 1st that netanyahu "is not interested in the 'philadelphia corridor' or the polio vaccine in gaza, but his ruling coalition" and "he is destroying israeli families and the country." a hostage's family member said in an interview that those who imprisoned the hostages and those who decided that the "philadelphia corridor" was more important than the lives of the hostages "have blood on their hands."

on august 31, haaretz published a commentary saying that the claim that israeli military pressure alone could rescue the hostages was wrong from the beginning to the end, and now this claim has been completely shattered. it is now clear that efforts to eliminate hamas will only lead to the deaths of more hostages. the article said that in a recent cabinet meeting, netanyahu and defense minister galant had serious disagreements. netanyahu opposed the israeli army's withdrawal from the "philadelphia corridor" adjacent to gaza and egypt, and the israeli army's withdrawal from the corridor is an important condition for reaching a ceasefire agreement in gaza. galant was the only person in the cabinet meeting who opposed netanyahu's decision. galant said that netanyahu's decision was equivalent to burying the possibility of a ceasefire agreement in gaza and making all the remaining hostages lose hope of survival. on the 1st, galant issued a statement saying: "the cabinet must hold an immediate meeting to revoke the decision made on thursday. we must bring back the hostages still held by hamas."

tears and rage, bones and dust

cnn believes that the news of more hostage deaths has put pressure on netanyahu. anger within israel over the failure to reach a ceasefire agreement is growing, and the obvious differences between netanyahu and military leaders are becoming increasingly public. under this circumstance, us president biden needs to push israel, his ally, to find a way to end the gaza war.

the palestinian newspaper al-azhar said that the tears and anger of israelis filled the headlines of the media, while the bodies of gazans were buried in the corners of the news. "the value of life in this war-torn land seems to have become like dust in the desert, scattered by the wind."

according to qatar's al jazeera tv on the 1st, israel has besieged the jenin refugee camp in the west bank for five consecutive days, killing dozens of people. the area is home to more than 20,000 people, and the main roads have turned into mud and rubble. the united nations condemned israel's actions for causing "huge damage" and leaving people there without access to food, water, electricity and the internet.