Hostages forum says 2 captives died while held by Hamas in Gaza: ‘should’ve returned alive’

“Their bodies are being held by the Hamas terror organisation,” the Israeli military said in a separate statement.

“The circumstances of their death in Hamas captivity are being examined by all the professional authorities.”

Buchshtab was abducted from his home in Kibbutz Nirim along with his wife Rimon Buchshtab-Kirsht, who was released after 50 days in captivity, the forum said.

Dancyg, who was born to Holocaust survivors, worked at Yad Vashem, the International Holocaust Remembrance Institute, and trained thousands of guides there, it added.

Hostages who were held captive with him reported that Dancyg spent his time in captivity giving history lectures to fellow captives, the forum said.

“Yagev and Alex were taken alive and should have returned alive to their families and to their country,” the forum said.

“Their death in captivity is a tragic reflection of the consequences of foot-dragging in negotiations,” it said, referring to ceasefire talks that have dragged on for months.

During the October 7 attack, Hamas militants seized 251 hostages, 116 of whom are still in Gaza, including 44 the Israeli military and officials say are dead.

The attack by Hamas resulted in the deaths of 1,195 people, mostly civilians, according to official Israeli figures.

Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed at least 39,006 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to data from the health ministry in the Hamas-ruled territory.