Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has asked the families of the six hostages who lost their lives in Gaza for forgiveness.
Speaking during a press conference on Monday, he said: “I said to the families, and I reiterate this this evening. I am asking for your forgiveness that we didn’t manage to bring them back still alive.
“We were close, but we didn’t achieve it.”
Netanyahu’s comments come after Israel confirmed on Sunday that six Israeli hostages in Gaza had died.
The bodies of Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi, and Ori Danino were brought back to Israel, the Israeli military said in a statement.
All of them were taken hostage by Hamas during the group’s October 7 terror attack.
IDF spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said: “According to our initial estimation, they were brutally murdered by Hamas terrorists a short time before we reached them.”
Hamas took 251 hostages, of which 101 remain in Gaza and 35 have been confirmed dead. 117 hostages have been returned alive to Israel.
After the news of the hostage deaths, protests have been held in Israel and a general strike has also been called.
Thousands have taken to the streets to express their anger at Netanyahu and his failure to reach a ceasefire deal with Hamas to bring the remaining hostages home.
On Sunday evening, 300,000 people went out onto the streets.
Protestors chanted “Now! Now!” as they called for a ceasefire. Others said: “We want them back alive.”
Shlomit Hacohen, a Tel Aviv resident, told the Times of Israel: “We really think that the government is making these decisions for its own preservation and not for the lives of the hostages, and we need to tell them, ‘Stop!'”