The IDF retrieved the bodies of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, Eden Yerushalmi, 24, Ori Danino, 25, Almog Sarusi, 25, Alexander Lobanov, 32, and Carmel Gat, 40, in Rafah last month.
By Vered Weiss, World Israel News
IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari revealed that the IDF eliminated two terrorists who held the six murdered Israeli hostages whose bodies were recovered in late August.
The IDF retrieved the bodies of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, Eden Yerushalmi, 24, Ori Danino, 25, Almog Sarusi, 25, Alexander Lobanov, 32, and Carmel Gat, 40, in Rafah.
They were shot in the head execution-style just two days before their bodies were discovered by security forces.
Hagari reported that “troops from the 162nd Division identified two terrorists emerging from an underground tunnel shaft in the Tel al-Sultan area and eliminated them during an encounter.”
He explained that the IDF was able to determine that the two neutralized terrorists were the ones who held the six murdered hostages by taking DNA samples from the equipment recovered after they fled and matching them with DNA collected in the tunnels where the hostages were held.
“Based on the findings and the information available to us, these terrorists that were killed were the same terrorists who were in the tunnel where the bodies of the six hostages were discovered,” said Hagari.
“The findings show they were there when they were murdered, and we are investigating their involvement in the murder. Should we obtain further information, we will first update the families and then the public,” Hagari added.
Hagari concluded by saying the IDF will “pursue and reach everyone responsible for this heinous murder, and we will not stop until we reach them all.”
In addition to establishing the time of death and the cause of death, the forensic examinations showed that the hostages had suffered from neglect, that they had not bathed for a lengthy time, and that they had sustained severe injuries, which were later treated.
The remains of the six captives were found without the benefit of intelligence information when a unit of IDF soldiers were traversing a tunnel under Rafah.