The hostages who were murdered in captivity
The hostages who were murdered in captivityCourtesy of the families

An initial investigation of the deaths of six hostages in Gaza showed that Hamas lookouts standing outside a Rafah tunnel identified the Israeli forces nearing the site where the hostages were held captive, and ordered the captors to murder the six and run.

All six hostages were found with bullet holes on their heads and other places on their bodies.

According to Kan News, after the hostages' bodies were located, the IDF found indications at the scene that Hamas had observed the IDF forces in real time.

Although the IDF is careful not to approach areas where intelligence has indicated that live hostages are being held, in this case, the IDF was apparently unaware of the fact that live hostages were being held in the area.

The six hostages were found twenty meters underground, with no prior intelligence on the matter. Their bodies were recovered from a site about one kilometer from the tunnel where hostage Farhan al-Qadi was rescued alive last week.

Earlier this week, a Hamas spokesperson admitted that the terror group killed the hostages. According to him, "The instructions for dealing with hostages will be updated when the IDF approaches the scene."

Previously, Hamas had claimed that the hostages were killed in an Israeli airstrike or IDF gunfire.