--- title: Israel Recovers Bodies of Six Hostages From Gaza description: The news comes as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken began his ninth trip to the region since Oct. 7 to press for a ceasefire. canonical: https://time.com/7012601/israel-gaza-hostages-bodies/ author: Anna Gordon article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2024-08-20T11:06:30.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-24T18:10:25.242Z article:section: World og:title: Israel Recovers Bodies of Six Hostages From Gaza og:description: The news comes as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken began his ninth trip to the region since Oct. 7 to press for a Israel-Hamas ceasefire. og:url: https://time.com/7012601/israel-gaza-hostages-bodies/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf7896f01436ede19/698a5a08b3fce337eb0cd81a/hostage-protest-israel-august.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: US Secretary Of State Blinken Returns To Israel As Cease-Fire Talks Gain Steam Again og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Israel Recovers Bodies of Six Hostages From Gaza twitter:description: The news comes as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken began his ninth trip to the region since Oct. 7 to press for a Israel-Hamas ceasefire. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf7896f01436ede19/698a5a08b3fce337eb0cd81a/hostage-protest-israel-august.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Israel Recovers Bodies of Six Hostages From Gaza, as Ceasefire Demands Grow by [Anna Gordon](/author/anna-gordon/) ## Anna Gordon Gordon was a reporter for TIME, based in the London bureau. Aug 20, 2024 11:06 AM CUT  Families of hostages who were kidnaped by Hamas on Oct. 7hold signs and U.S. flags during a demonstration outside a press event by Secretary of State Antony Blinken on August 19, 2024 in Tel Aviv, Israel. Families of hostages who were kidnaped by Hamas on Oct. 7hold signs and U.S. flags during a demonstration outside a press event by Secretary of State Antony Blinken on August 19, 2024 in Tel Aviv, Israel.Amir Lev–Getty Images by [Anna Gordon](/author/anna-gordon/) ## Anna Gordon Gordon was a reporter for TIME, based in the London bureau. Aug 20, 2024 11:06 AM CUT The Israeli military [recovered the bodies](https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-military-retrieves-bodies-six-hostages-held-gaza-2024-08-20/ "undefined") 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. Israel’s National Institute of Forensic Medicine identified the deceased as Yagev Buchshtav, 35; Alexander Dancyg, 76; Avraham Munder, 79; Yoram Metzger, 80; Nadav Popplewell, 51; and Chaim Perry, 80\. **Read More:** [_The Families of Israelis Held Hostage by Hamas Speak Out_](https://time.com/6324741/israel-hostages/ "undefined") “We will continue to operate in order to return all of the remaining hostages back home,” the IDF said in[ a post on X](https://x.com/IDF/status/1825792608653709346 "undefined"). “Our hearts are with the families of these victims of Hamas’ terrorism.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the recovery effort and said “our hearts ache for the terrible loss.” The military did not say how or when the six hostages died. A forum for hostage families said they were kidnapped alive during the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, where around 1,200 Israelis were killed and 240 taken hostage, the Associated Press [reported](https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-war-news-08-20-2024-54dfaddce02c2d3cdf0415b140b3229c "undefined"). Hamas says some hostages have been killed and wounded in over 10 months of Israeli airstrikes in the wake of Oct. 7\. The death toll in Gaza stands at [over 40,000](https://edition.cnn.com/2024/08/15/middleeast/gaza-death-toll-40000-israel-war-intl/index.html "undefined"), according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza health ministry, figures that both the U.S. and U.N. deem credible. **Read More:**[_Exclusive: Netanyahu at War_](https://time.com/7008717/benjamin-netanyahu-interview/ "undefined") Of the initial 240 hostages, [112 hostages have been returned to Israel](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-67477240 "undefined") alive in prisoner exchanges with Hamas, and an additional four hostages were freed in [an IDF rescue operation](https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israel-rescues-four-hostages-gaza-palestinians-say-50-dead-israeli-assault-2024-06-08/ "undefined") in June that Palestinian officials say killed more than 200 people. There were an estimated [116 Israeli hostages remaining in Gaza](https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2024/07/israel-opt-hamas-and-other-armed-groups-must-immediately-release-civilians-held-hostage-in-gaza/ "undefined") as of July, according to Amnesty International, though Israeli authorities believe over a third of the remaining hostages are deceased. The recovery of six bodies on Tuesday comes as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken [began](https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/blinken-back-middle-east-press-conclusion-israel-hamas-112929457 "undefined") his ninth trip to the region since Oct. 7 to press for a ceasefire. Blinken said on Monday that Netanyahu had accepted a proposal to bridge gaps in the ceasefire talks. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7012601/israel-gaza-hostages-bodies/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7012601/israel-gaza-hostages-bodies/"},"headline":"Israel Recovers Bodies of Six Hostages From Gaza, as Ceasefire Demands Grow","datePublished":"2024-08-20T11:06:30.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T18:10:25.242Z","description":"The news comes as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken began his ninth trip to the region since Oct. 7 to press for a Israel-Hamas ceasefire.","url":"https://time.com/7012601/israel-gaza-hostages-bodies/","keywords":["Israel-Hamas War","It's Not Just You","News Desk"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf7896f01436ede19/698a5a08b3fce337eb0cd81a/hostage-protest-israel-august.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Anna Gordon","jobTitle":"Gordon was a reporter for TIME, based in the London bureau.","url":"https://time.com/author/anna-gordon/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf7896f01436ede19/698a5a08b3fce337eb0cd81a/hostage-protest-israel-august.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"US Secretary Of State Blinken Returns To Israel As Cease-Fire Talks Gain Steam Again","caption":"Hostage protest Israel August","creditText":"Amir Lev–Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/israel-hamas-war/","name":"Israel-Hamas War"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/7012601/israel-gaza-hostages-bodies/","name":"Israel Recovers Bodies of Six Hostages From Gaza, as Ceasefire Demands Grow"}}]}] ```