The six hostages, whose bodies were found in Gaza over the summer, were probably shot in February by their captors as an Israeli strike hit close to the tunnel where they were held, the military said.

Hamas threatened to "neutralize" its hostages if Israel attempted another rescue operation, according to an internal statement seen by Reuters.

Hamas said it had information that Israel intended to carry out a hostage rescue operation similar to one conducted in Gaza's Nuseirat camp in June and threatened to "neutralize" the captives if such an operation took place,

In December 2023, the Israeli military expressed "deep remorse" after soldiers mistakenly killed three hostages in northern Gaza who had escaped from their captors. They were named as Yotam Haim, 28, Samer Talalka, 22, and Alon Shamriz, 26.

In a Nov. 22 internal statement reviewed Wednesday by Reuters, Hamas said it believed Israel was about to stage an operation like the June attack at Gaza’s Nuseirat camp.