The IDF released video footage of the tunnel in Rafah where six hostages were killed in late August.
The tunnel shaft was discovered inside a child’s bedroom in Gaza, and it extends 20 meters into the ground and connects to a 120-meter-long tunnel. The tunnel is narrow with low ceilings, no rooms, and has a metal door at its end.
“This is a ‘passage’ tunnel, not a ‘room’ tunnel. Standing up straight is impossible, and the humidity is extreme,” IDF Spokesman R.-Adm. Daniel Hagari said.
“Here, we can see their blood on the floor. This is where their final moments occurred: Hersh [Goldberg-Polin], Eden [Yerushalmi], Carmel [Gat], Ori [Danino], Almog [Sarusi], and Alex [Lobanov]. They were brutally murdered here.
“It is extremely difficult to survive in such conditions. They were heroes, coldly murdered by terrorists who build tunnels beneath children’s bedrooms and hide with captives,” he added.
Hagari noted that the evidence is still being analyzed and he displayed some of the objects found within the tunnel, indicating the prolonged stay of the hostages.
Among the objects found were bottles of urine, a makeshift bucket cesspool, women’s hygiene products, as well as various weapons, including Kalashnikov magazines and bullet shells.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum called the “Tunnel of Horrors” footage “shocking.”
“It reveals the horrific conditions endured by Carmel Gat, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Alex Lobanov, Almog Sarusi, Ori Danino, and Eden Yerushalmi – for 11 months. They were confined in narrow 1.5-meter tunnels, deep underground, deprived of air and sanitary conditions, and subjected to constant mental and physical abuse before their brutal execution.
“There are 101 hostages still held in Gaza, enduring unimaginable suffering. Hungry, exhausted, and tortured, they cling to a single hope: that we will continue fighting for their freedom. They trust us to bring them home.”
The killing of the hostages has been highly controversial as many political and defense officials believe they could have been saved in a hostage exchange deal as part of a ceasefire with Hamas if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had not, in their mind, held off a deal in order to hold onto the Philadelphi Corridor in Rafah.
Controversy on the deal
In addition, the IDF confirmed on Tuesday that the six hostages were killed by their Hamas captors on August 29, two days after the IDF rescued Israeli-Bedouin Qaid Farhan Alkadi on August 27 from a nearby tunnel.
The IDF said it does not know the exact time the six hostages were killed.
The timing essentially confirms that the six hostages were killed in response to the rescue of Alkadi. However, it also likely disqualifies drawing any direct connection to the Israeli cabinet vote on keeping the Philadelphi Corridor in any hostage deal early Friday.
Further, the IDF said it had found the bodies of terrorists nearby who might have been the killers of the hostages.
These terrorists were trying to escape the tunnel area above ground.
The IDF is analyzing the DNA of the terrorists as well as the DNA within the tunnel and relating to the hostages to see if there is a connection.
It believes that two terrorists were involved in killing the hostages.
Based on the amount of food, bathroom facilities, mattresses, and the stock of weapons nearby, the IDF estimated that the hostages and their captors had been in the area for more than a week and possibly significantly longer.
Captives kept in cages
It recalled that when it penetrated one of the largest tunnels where hostages had been kept in cages in Khan Yunis in January and later, those hostages were moved to other locations either in Khan Yunis or in Rafah.
Moreover, the IDF revealed that to find the six hostages’ bodies it had to use a D-9 armored bulldozer to break through a structure and then a mix of powerful hammers and drills to break through materials that Hamas had placed over the bodies to make it harder to discover them.
Also, the IDF said it has tried to learn lessons from this and other incidents in which its operational activities may have endangered hostages so as to minimize such risks in the future while maintaining ongoing military pressure on Hamas.