Several bodies, possibly hostages, have been found in Gaza, the IDF announced on Saturday night.
The Israeli army has said that the identities of the bodies are unlikely to be known until they are returned to Israel, which will most probably be on Sunday.
In a statement, the IDF said: “At this stage, the forces are still operating in the area and carrying out a process to extract and identify the bodies, which will last several hours.”
The exact location of where the bodies were found has not been revealed.
In the meantime, they have urged the public to not spread rumours as to the identities of the bodies.
Following the news, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum has called for the public to protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Already on Saturday evening, thousands demonstrated across the country, demanding that Netanyahu sign a hostage deal.
“Netanyahu abandoned the hostages! This is now a fact,” said a statement from the Hostage and Missing Families Forum.
Protesters gather with signs demanding a hostage deal during a demonstration demanding action to free the Israeli hostages captive in the Gaza Strip since the October 7 attacks outside the Israeli Defence Ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv (Photo: Getty Images)
“Starting tomorrow the country will tremble. We call on the public to prepare. We will stop the country,” they wrote.
The forum said they would release more details about demonstrations on Sunday.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid said: “While our sons and daughters are abandoned and die in captivity, Netanyahu is busy spinning the narrative.
"We will continue to stand by the families and hug and protect them in difficult times.”
On Tuesday, Israeli forces rescued a hostage alive from Hamas captivity in the Gaza Strip.
Qaid Farhan Alkadi, 52, a father of 11 from the Bedouin city of Rahat in the Negev, was brought back to Israel from a tunnel in southern Gaza in a “complex operation.”
Upon leaving Soroka Medical Centre in Beersheva on Wednesday, Alkadi expressed the desire to see his mother and daughters, adding, “Whether you’re Arab or Jewish, everyone has a family waiting for them. They all want to celebrate. I hope and pray this will end.”
Freed hostage Farhan Alkadi reunited with his brother at the Soroka hospital in Beersheva
Also on Wednesday, the IDF recovered the body of a soldier in the Gaza Strip who was killed fighting Hamas operatives during the terrorist invasion of the northwestern Negev on Oct. 7.
At the request of the soldier’s family, his name has not yet been made public.
On October 7, Hamas terrorists murdered around 1,200 people in southern Israel and took over 250 hostage. 107 remain in captivity, four of whom were abducted before October 7.
