Image by Getty Images

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel is holding the bodies of five Islamic Jihad terrorists killed in the Gaza terror tunnel that the Israel Defense Forces blew up last week.

The IDF said on Sunday that it is holding the bodies, days after Hamas, which controls Gaza, asked to be allowed to search for the missing men.

The tunnel which the IDF blew up on Monday stretched from Khan Younis in Gaza to Israel and is believed to have been dug after the 2014 Gaza war. The tunnel was under “active construction” at the time of its demolition. At least 12 Gazan Palestinians were killed and 11 injured in the blast, according to reports. Most of those in the tunnel at the time of the explosion were members of the Islamic Jihad terror group.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis of the crisis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

The IDF Spokesman said that the bodies were discovered during supplementary activities to close up the tunnel.

“The bodies of the five martyrs will not remain for long in Israel’s hands. We know how to recover bodies of our people,” Islamic Jihad said in response to the news that Israel is holding the bodies, Ynet reported. “The campaign continues and will not end.”

It is believed that the terror group was alluding to capturing Israeli soldiers and holding them to exchange for the bodies.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you move on, I wanted to ask you to support the Forward’s award-winning journalism during our High Holiday Monthly Donor Drive.

This year, we have stood together in strength and sorrow. Our Forward team has worked around the clock to help you find clarity amid the chaos.

If you’ve turned to the Forward in the past 12 months to better understand the world around you, we hope you will support us with a gift now. Your support has a direct impact, giving us the resources we need to report from Israel and around the U.S., across college campuses, and wherever there is news of importance to American Jews.

Make a monthly or one-time gift and support Jewish journalism throughout 5785. The first six months of your monthly gift will be matched for twice the investment in independent Jewish journalism. 

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$36 $500

$120 $180 Other amount