Israel says deaths of six hostages in Gaza likely linked to Israeli strike

The deaths of six Israeli hostages whose bodies were recovered from Gaza in August were probably linked to an Israeli airstrike against Hamas near where they were being held, the Israeli military said on Wednesday.

"At the time of the strike, the military had no information, not even a suspicion, that the hostages were in the underground compound or its vicinity," the military said in a statement about the investigation into the hostages' deaths.

"Had such information been available, the strike would not have been carried out."

The statement said it was "highly probable that their deaths were related to the strike near the location where they were held," although the precise circumstances were still not clear.

The military said the airstrike occurred in February while the bodies of the hostages were recovered in late August.

The most plausible scenario was that they were shot by Palestinian militants around the time of the strike, it said. It was also possible that they had already been killed previously, or that they were shot after they were already dead.

"Due to the extended time that had passed, it was not possible to determine clearly the cause of the death of hostages or the exact timing of the gunfire."

Reuters