New details have emerged of the courage shown by the six hostages murdered by Hamas, and the terrible conditions in which they were held prisoner.

Some of the hostages attempted to fight off their killers, their families have been told by the Israel Defence Forces, according to reports on Israeli television.

Channel 12 and Channel 13 reported that IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari had briefed some of the families of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Ori Danino, Eden Yerushalmi, Almog Sarusi, Alexander Lobanov and Carmel Gat on the harsh conditions in the cramped tunnel where they were found, and the courage they showed in their final moments.
Several of the six are assessed to have defended themselves and struggled with those who shot them, according to Channel 13 which cited “forensic” findings that show the male hostages defended the women, Eden and Carmel.”

Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the Hamas murderers had shot the hostages dead “in cold blood. They riddled them with bullets… They shot them in the back of the head.”

The six were held in a small, narrow tunnel, barely the width of two people which was too low for them to stand fully upright, the Channel 12 report said.

There were no air vents, and the hostages had difficulty breathing, the families were reportedly told. There were no toilets or showers. The hostages washed with water from the bottles they drank from.

Protein bars were found in the tunnel but the hostages had very little food. Eden Yerushalmi weighed just five and a half stone when she was found.

The hostages had a generator and a small torch that didn’t always work, a chess set, writing implements and notepads. The IDF has given the notepads to the hostages’ families, the report said.

Members of one unnamed family told Channel 12 that the hostages “did everything to survive in impossible circumstances… and in the end Hamas murdered them… Their only demand was that the government save them, and the government failed in its mission.”

The bodies of the six were recovered by the IDF overnight August 31-September 1. An initial autopsy on Septemebr 1 found they had been shot multiple times at close range, two to three days earlier.