Israel declares two more Gaza hostages dead
Israel announced the death of two more hostages it held in Gaza on Monday, while talks were to resume this week to reach a ceasefire agreement that would allow for the release of 120 prisoners.
The Israeli military has said that it is still investigating the death of two hostages who were taken from their homes near the Gaza border by Hamas during the attack on Israel's south.
On Thursday, an Israeli team of negotiators was scheduled to begin a mediated Gaza ceasefire talk that would include the release of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for hostages.
The Hostage Families Forum released a statement saying that "Yagev was taken alive, and they should have returned to their families alive." Their death in captivity reflects the tragic consequences of dragging out negotiations.
Dancyg was also a Polish citizen, and the Polish Foreign Ministry expressed its sadness at his death.
The ministry stated that Poland will continue to call for the unconditional release all abducted persons from Gaza.
Israeli authorities have declared dead in absentia a third or more of the hostages who are still being held in Gaza. (Reporting Maayan and Ari Rabinovitch; additional reporting Alan Charlish, Warsaw Editing Gareth Jones & Christina Fincher).