The bodies of six hostages, discovered by the Israeli military this week in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, show signs of gunshot wounds, according to initial autopsy results reported by The Times of Israel.
The Abu Kabir Institute of Forensic Medicine found that all six hostages had bullet marks, suggesting they were likely killed by their captors, the newspaper notes. However, the report emphasizes that these conclusions are preliminary, and the exact causes of death have not yet been confirmed by medical examiners.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) suspect that the hostages were executed by their kidnappers, who may have believed that the military was carrying out a rescue operation, according to Israeli TV Channel 12.
Earlier, the Israeli publication Yedioth Ahronoth speculated that the six hostages, whose bodies were recovered from Gaza on Tuesday, may have died from a gas leak in a tunnel during the IDF's attack on Khan Younis.
Israeli authorities have reported that 109 abductees, including 10 foreign nationals, were being held in the Gaza Strip. Israel has officially confirmed the deaths of 36 of them, including 3 foreign nationals.
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Based on materials from TASS