On the evening of December 24 (local time), the Israeli army announced that it had found the bodies of five Israeli hostages from a tunnel in the Gaza Strip.
The announcement came a day after the Izzadin al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, said it had lost contact with the group responsible for holding five Israeli hostages and suggested they may have been killed in Israeli attacks.
Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said: “Israeli forces discovered a network of tunnels in the Jabalia area, northern Gaza Strip, and found the bodies of five Israeli hostages who were killed there.”
Three of the five hostages appeared in a video released by the Al-Qassam Brigades a few days ago. In the video, the hostages called on the Israeli government not to abandon them.
In addition, Mr. Hagari emphasized: "The Israeli army intends to expand its operations in the city of Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, in order to gain control of this city." However, the Israeli army spokesman noted that it may take a considerable amount of time to complete this goal.
According to VNA