The Israeli military has recovered the bodies of six hostages taken in Hamas’ October 7 attack that started the war in Gaza.

The recovery came as the United States, Egypt and Qatar are trying to mediate a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas that would result in the release of scores of hostages held by the militant group.

The military on Tuesday said its forces recovered the bodies in an overnight operation in southern Gaza.

It identified the hostages as Yagev Buchshtab, Alexander Dancyg, Avraham Munder, Yoram Metzger, Nadav Popplewell and Haim Perry, without saying when or how they died.

Five of the hostages were more than 50 years old when they were captured, and three had family members who were released during a week-long ceasefire in November.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu:

“Overnight our forces returned the bodies of six of our hostages that had been held by the murderous Hamas terrorist organization: Avraham Munder, Alex Dancyg, Chaim Peri, Yagev Buchshtav, Yoram Metzger and Nadav Popplewell – of blessed memory.

— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) August 20, 2024

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the recovery effort and said “our hearts ache for the terrible loss”.

“The State of Israel will continue to make every effort to return all of our hostages – both alive and dead,” he said in a statement.

Hamas is believed to still be holding about 110 hostages captured in the October 7 attack.

Israeli authorities estimate about a third of them are dead.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is on his ninth visit to the region since the start of the war, said on Monday that Netanyahu had accepted a proposal to bridge gaps in the ceasefire talks and called on Hamas to do the same.

Hamas has accused the United States of embracing Israeli demands and trying to impose them on the militant group.

Hamas-led militants burst through Israel’s defence on October 7 and rampaged across the south, killing some 1200 people, mostly civilians, and taking about 250 people hostage.

More than 100 hostages were released in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned in Israel during a weeklong ceasefire in 2023.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry, which does not say how many were militants.

Air and ground operations have caused widespread destruction and forced the vast majority of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents to flee their homes.

The mediators have been trying to finalise a proposal for a three-phase process in which Hamas would release all the hostages in return for the release of more Palestinian prisoners, an Israeli withdrawal from the territory and a lasting truce.

But there still appear to be wide gaps between the two sides.