IDF Confirms Signs of Bullet Wounds Found on All Six Hostages' Bodies Recovered from Gaza

Evidence of bullet wounds was found on all six bodies of the hostages who were recovered from the Gaza Strip earlier this week, the IDF confirmed on Thursday, August 22. 

These are preliminary findings, the army stressed. The captives may have been killed by friendly fire. Alternatively, they may have been shot dead by their captures. It is not yet possible to determine the circumstances of the hostages’ deaths definitively, the military underlined. 

However, Israeli media reported that the military believes the hostages were indeed executed by their captors during an IDF operation near where they were being held, with their guards possibly believing a rescue operation was underway.

The investigation is ongoing, and findings will be presented to families and the public, the military said. The initial findings came from the L. Greenberg Institute of Forensic Medicine at Abu Kabir, which performed the autopsies and examined the bodies of the six hostages, the military stated. 

Four bodies that were found next to the hostages in Gaza are presumed to be the remains of the terrorists who were holding the six captives. No signs of gunshot wounds were observed upon the examination of these corpses. 

The bodies of the six men taken captive on October 7, all of whom were killed in captivity, were brought back to Israel for burial. They were Nadav Popplewell, Yagev Buchshtab, Yoram Metzger, Chaim Peri, Alexander Dancyg, and Avraham Munder, all found in the Khan Yunis area in Gaza. (JPost / VFI News)

“Our Heavenly Father, we send our heartfelt condolences to the families of the six hostages and we ask that You become their refuge and rock during this time of grief and emotional need. Please, take them in Your loving embrace, comfort them, and heal their hearts. You are close to the brokenhearted and those who mourn and we pray in Yeshua’s name that You will take care of their emotional and physical needs during this trying time. We pray that the remaining hostages will be brought back to their families alive. May You mediate either a fruitful negotiation or a successful rescue mission from our defense forces that will result in the retrieval of all the hostages once and for all. Until then, please guard them from all the evil they are surrounded by.”

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