Grief, anger in Israel after six hostages found dead in Gaza

Defence chief urges Netanyahu to ease back on hardline position over ceasefire deal

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The Israeli military has recovered the bodies of six hostages from a tunnel in southern Gaza where they were “brutally murdered" by Hamas.

The news on Sept 1 set off a wave of nationwide grief mixed with anger in Israel, as well as a new call from the country's top defence official for a ceasefire deal.

"According to our initial estimation, they were brutally murdered by Hamas terrorists a short time before we reached them,” Rear-Admiral Daniel Hagari, the military's chief spokesman, told reporters.

The bodies of Ms Carmel Gat, Mr Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Ms Eden Yerushalmi, Mr Alexander Lobanov, Mr Almog Sarusi and Mr Ori Danino were found in a tunnel underneath the city of Rafah, close to where a seventh hostage, Mr Farhan al-Qadi, was found alive last week.

Five of those captured had been at a dance music festival in southern Israel. The sixth, Ms Gat, was taken from the nearby village of Be'eri.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was "shocked to the depths" of his soul by what he called the "cold-blooded murder" of the hostages.

"The heart of the entire nation is torn," he said in a statement.

Mr Netanyahu said Israel would not rest until it caught those responsible.