Israel recovers bodies of 6 hostages in Gaza

Israel recovered the bodies of six hostages from a tunnel in southern Gaza where they were apparently killed not long before Israeli troops reached them, the military said on Sunday.

The Israeli military said the bodies of Carmel Gat, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Eden Yerushalmi, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi and Ori Danino had been brought to Israel.

Hamas official Izzat al-Rishq on Sunday blamed Israel for the death of hostages, saying Israel was unwilling to reach a deal.

US President Joe Biden, who has closely followed the fate of the hostages seized on October 7, said the six included Israeli American Goldberg-Polin.

"I am devastated and outraged," Biden said in a statement issued by the White House.

Goldberg-Polin, captured at a music festival near Gaza, appeared in a video released by Hamas in late April.

"He had just turned 23. He planned to travel the world," Biden said. His parents, Rachel Goldberg and Jon Polin, "have been courageous, wise, and steadfast, even as they have endured the unimaginable," Biden said.

"They have been relentless and irrepressible champions of their son and of all the hostages held in unconscionable conditions. I admire them and grieve with them more deeply than words can express," the president said.

Biden vowed that "Hamas leaders will pay for these crimes. And we will keep working around the clock for a deal to secure the release of the remaining hostages."

Vice President Kamala Harris said in a statement, "I strongly condemn Hamas’ continued brutality, and so must the entire world."

Harris, the Democratic candidate running to succeed Biden, said she and he would never waver in their commitment to free the Americans and all those held hostage in Gaza.

Earlier, speaking to reporters in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, Biden said he was "still optimistic" about a ceasefire deal to stop the conflict.

"I think we're on the verge of having an agreement," he said. "It's time this war ended."

Biden added that "people are continuing to meet".

"We think we can close the deal, they’ve all said they agree on the principles."