Shocking new video released by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) shows conditions in the tunnel where troops found six hostages who were executed by Hamas terrorists last month.
“We have distributed this footage in English and reported it to international media so that the whole world knows and remembers the evil of Hamas and understands how cruelly it treats hostages,” IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said at a briefing earlier this week.
“At this very moment, our hearts are with the hostages' families and we share their deep grief and sorrow,” Hagari added. “We will continue to do all we can to bring the hostages home alive as soon as possible.”
In late August, the Israel Defense Forces recovered the bodies of six Israeli hostages killed in the rescue operation, including that of Hersh Goldberg Pollin, an American-Israeli whose parents had repeatedly appealed publicly for his safe return, including in a speech at the Democratic National Convention.
Parents of 22-year-old American held by Hamas speak out: 'They're holding our children'
According to an IDF report, Goldberg-Porin, along with Eden Yerushalmi, Ori Danino, Alex Lobanov, Carmel Gatto and Almog Salsi, were executed by Hamas terrorists on August 29 before the Israeli army arrived.
New footage shows Haghali making his way through the tunnel, which runs beneath the Tel Sultan district of Rafah, revealing just how cramped, dark and terrifying it must have been.
The footage shows rubbish strewn throughout the tunnel, as well as scattered clothing and bloodstains. Along with the hostages, the forces also found several weeks' worth of food and equipment that the Hamas terrorists likely used to survive.
Pro-Palestinian protesters taunt Harris rally-goers, VP supporters fire back: 'What about Hamas?'
The tunnel, about 60 feet underground, is about 400 feet long and so high that it is impossible to stand upright without bending over. According to the Times of Israel.
Supplies found in the tunnel where the IDF took the bodies of six hostages. (Courtesy of the Israel Defense Forces)
Israeli forces have reportedly destroyed eight miles of underground routes and neutralised roughly 80 percent of Hamas' tunnels along the Philadelphia Corridor, the Israel Defense Forces announced this week.
“We continue to investigate the circumstances of the murder as thoroughly as possible,” Hagari said. “Once our investigation is complete, we will report our findings first to the family and then to the public.”
Supplies found in the tunnel where the IDF took the bodies of six hostages. (Courtesy of the Israel Defense Forces)
“The forces operating on the ground have acted responsibly and cautiously, both above and below ground,” Haghari continued. “In recent weeks, they have eliminated many terrorists on the ground, including the commander of the Tel al-Sultan battalion and the battalion's chain of command.”
Israel says it “dismantled” Hamas' top Rafah Brigades in Philadelphia Corridor, killed 2,000 terrorists
The American hostages – Hersh Goldberg Polin, 23, Eden Yerushalmi, 24, Carmel Gatto, 40, Alex Lobanov, 32, Almog Salsi, 27, and Ori Danino, 25 – were “brutally murdered” by Hamas shortly before they were rescued, the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement. (Fox News)
“We did not have the intelligence to carry out a hostage rescue operation, nor did we know the exact location of the hostages in the tunnel that was discovered,” Hagari added. “The hostages were killed before we arrived on the scene.”
Supplies found in the tunnel where the IDF took the bodies of six hostages. (Courtesy of the Israel Defense Forces)
Hagari also noted that the IDF had launched an investigation into how the names of the six hostages were leaked before they were rescued from the tunnel, saying the intrusion was “a very serious incident that first harmed families and also endangered the safety of the forces working on the ground.”
Click here to get the FOX News app
Israeli forces are continuing operations in the Tel al-Sultan area, located in the southwestern Gaza Strip, just north of the Philadelphia Corridor, where they continue to discover and destroy tunnels.
Fox News Digital's Caitlin McFaul contributed to this report.
