The bodies of six hostages have been removed from the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military said.
A statement issued by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the bodies of Yagev Buchshtab, Alexander Dancyg, Avraham Munder, Yoram Metzger, Haim Perry and British-Israeli Nadav Popplewell were found in the Khan Younis area on Monday.
Five of the dead had been announced by Israel, although Avraham Munder was thought to be alive.
The rescue operation was carried out by the IDF alongside the Shin Bet security agency.
The six men were captured alive before being taken to Gaza, said the Hostage Families Forum.
In a statement, the discovery of the bodies gave the families “the closure they needed”.
They continued that the return of the remaining 109 hostages from Gaza “can only be achieved through a negotiated agreement” and called on the Israeli government to “do everything in its power to finalize the agreement currently on the table”.
Talks on the long-awaited peace deal and hostage release continue, with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken currently in the Middle East seeking a deal.
On Monday, Mr Blinken said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had agreed to “a proposal to shut down” the US, after the two met in Tel Aviv.
Responding to the discovery of the bodies, Israeli President Isaac Herzog said on Tuesday “we send our condolences and warm hugs to the families”.
“We must not temporarily stop working by all means to bring back all the hostages,” he added.
Hamas previously said that Mr Popplewell died of his wounds in an Israeli airstrike months ago.
Israel launched a military operation in Gaza after an unprecedented attack in southern Israel on October 7 by Hamas gunmen, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 were captured.
More than 40,173 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the health ministry run by Hamas in the area.
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