IOF say two captives killed in Gaza's Khan Younis several months ago

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Israeli media
22 Jul 2024 16:12

The Israeli occupation military says "the circumstances of their death in Hamas captivity are being examined by all the professional authorities."

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Israeli mounted police officers disperse demonstrators during a protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government and call for the release of captive held in the Gaza Strip, in Tel Aviv, on Saturday, July 20, 2024. (AP)

Two Israeli captives held by Hamas in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip died several months ago, the Israeli occupation military stated on Monday.

The occupation military identified the captives as Yagev Buchshtav, 35, and Alex Dancyg, 76, who were taken captive by the Palestinian Resistance fighters on October 7, 2023.

The statement did not mention how Buchshtav and Dancyg died, adding that "the circumstances of their death in Hamas captivity are being examined by all the professional authorities."

The possibility the captives were killed by Israeli fire is under investigation, the military said, given that Israeli forces were operating in certain areas of Khan Younis at the time in question.

Meanwhile, on March 10, Hamas' al-Qassam Brigades confirmed that Buchshtav had died due to lack of food and medication as a result of the Israeli siege imposed on the Gaza Strip, while Dancyg had been killed in an Israeli strike.

The Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported that military estimates suggest the two captives were killed in an Israeli military operation in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip earlier this year.

In June, the al-Qassam Brigades released a video titled "Your Israeli government killed a number of your captives in order to save other captives," showcasing filmed evidence.

The video addresses Israeli settlers, underlining that the Israeli occupation forces killed three of their own captives in the Nuseirat camp in exchange for recovering four other captives from the same location.

Martyr Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Hamas movement, published new video footage revealing that the Israeli occupation forces killed three captives held in #Gaza, including an American, during the #Nuseirat massacre where they retrieved four of the… pic.twitter.com/nSPwKkbiMs
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) June 9, 2024

With the announcement, the Israeli occupation military said that 44 Israeli captives of the remaining 116 in Gaza have died.

The so-called Hostages Families Forum consisting of the family members of the captives held in Gaza stressed that the latest news of Buchshtav and Dancyg's death is "yet another stark reminder of the urgency" to immediately complete a deal that would retrieve the rest of the captives.