The Israeli army recovered the bodies of six hostages from a tunnel in the Gaza Strip city of Rafah. Israel confirmed that all these hostages were held by Hamas and included an American citizen Hersh Goldberg-Polin. US President Joe Biden described the incident as “tragic” and “reprehensible”. He warned that “Hamas leaders will pay the price for these crimes.”
Biden said in a statement issued from the White House, “One of the hostages killed by these vicious Hamas terrorists was an American citizen.” He further said that now the time has come for a ceasefire and he will work 24 hours for this. The Israeli army said that the hostages were killed by Hamas before they were recovered from the Gaza tunnel.
Also read: Israeli army foils terrorist plot in Gaza, 20 terrorists killed in West Bank
‘Hamas does not want ceasefire in Gaza’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also took a tough stance against Hamas, saying “those who kill hostages do not want any agreement for a Gaza ceasefire.” He promised to hold Hamas terrorists to account.
The hostages were killed shortly before their capture
Meanwhile, the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) has also confirmed the incident. IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said that the hostages were brutally killed shortly before the arrival of IDF troops. American citizen Goldberg Polin was kidnapped by Hamas on October 7 during the Nova music festival.
Also read: 9 people killed in Israeli attack in Gaza, IDF killed this key Hamas commander
Tension increasing in Gaza-Israel
The situation in Gaza is very delicate, where on one hand efforts are being made for ceasefire and on the other hand humanitarian aid like polio campaign is also going on. In such a situation, tension between Gaza and Israel is increasing. On the other hand, Israel has intensified its campaign against Hamas after thousands of Israeli citizens were killed and taken hostage.
Source (PTI) (NDTV) (HINDUSTANTIMES)