The Israeli military found the bodies of six hostages from the Khan Younis area of southern Gaza overnight on Tuesday, according to the Israel Defense Forces and the Prime Minister’s office. The National Institute of Forensic Medicine in Israel identified the deceased as Yagev Buchshtav, 35; Alexander Dancyg, 76; Avraham Munder, 79; Yoram Metzger, 80; Nadav Popplewell, 51; and Chaim Perry, 80.”We will continue to work to return all of the remaining hostages home,” the IDF stated in a statement on X. “Our hearts are with the families of these victims of Hamas’ terrorism.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the recovery effort, stating, “Our hearts ache for the terrible loss.” The military did not explain how or when the six captives perished. According to a website for hostage families, they were captured alive during the Hamas onslaught on October 7, which killed around 1,200 Israelis and took 240 hostages, according to the Associated Press.

According to Hamas, several hostages have been killed or wounded in almost ten months of Israeli airstrikes following October 7. According to the Hamas-controlled Gaza health ministry, the death toll in Gaza exceeds 40,000, estimates deemed credible by both the United States and the United Nations.

Of the original 240 captives, 112 have been released to Israel alive through prisoner exchanges with Hamas, while an additional four were rescued in an IDF rescue operation in June that Palestinian sources claim killed more than 200 people. According to Amnesty International, there were an estimated 116 Israeli hostages remained in Gaza as of July, however Israeli police believe more than a third of the hostages had died.

Six dead were recovered on Tuesday, as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken launched his eighth trip to the region since October 7 to advocate for a cease-fire. Blinken announced on Monday that Netanyahu has accepted a plan to bridge gaps in the cease-fire talks.