Israeli military retrieves bodies of six hostages from Gaza

Protesters stand with large cutout photos of slain hostages and other hostages with relatives of hostages taken by Hamas to the Gaza Strip, to honour the memories of six men whose bodies were returned and to call for a deal to release the remaining captives, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

JERUSALEM (Reuters): Israel retrieved the bodies of six hostages from the Gaza Strip, the military said on Tuesday (Aug 20), as negotiations continued in an effort to bring back more than 100 captives who remain in the besieged Palestinian enclave.

A total of 109 hostages are believed to remain in Gaza, around a third of whom are thought to be dead, with the fate of the others unknown. Most of them were seized by gunmen from the Palestinian fighter group Hamas as they rampaged through communities in southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing some 1,200 Israelis and foreigners and abducting around 250 as hostages.