IDF recovers bodies of six hostages murdered in Gaza

We Begin this hour with a Fox News Alert the IDF announcing they have found six dead hostages taken by Hamas on October 7th inside of a tunnel in Gaza just days ago sadly that includes the Reigns of hsh Goldberg Poland who is the fourth American hostage believed to have been killed by Hamas Trey yinx joins us live from hostage Square in Tel Aviv with more Trey yeah hey guys good morning six of the Israeli hostages that were being held by Hamas were killed by the group according to the IDF their bodies were recovered this weekend it's a heartbreaking development for the Israeli people who have waited 331 days for them to come home three of the hostages were set to be released from Gaza during the first humanitarian exchange once a ceasefire was implemented I'm told among them American citizen hirs Goldberg Poland his story grabbed the attention of the world the 23-year-old was attending a music Festival when the October 7th attack began he hid inside a bomb shelter that Hamas ultimately threw grenades inside of while he lost his arm he survived and was dragged into Gaza still though the ordeal he survived until being executed in recent days now President Biden released a statement overnight saying he was devastated and outraged adding that the bodies were recovered from a tunnel underneath Rafa the news has moved Israel's defense minister yav Galan to call on the war cabinet to reverse a decision led by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week to keep troops in the Philadelphia Corridor between Gaza and Egypt this was seen as the last major sticking point preventing a ceasefire deal now the funeral for these six Israeli hostages will be held in the days ahead but I can tell you it was a gloomy morning here in Tel Aviv it actually rained in the city for the first time in months and the entire population of Israel grieving today the loss of their six fellow citizens guys Trey thanks for that report it certainly is a a sad day in Israel that you mentioned Rafa and the crossing point there as a sticking point on the on the Seas fire so if I'm correct the the cabinet had said we're keeping Israeli troops there because we can't trust Hamas to control that checkpoint you're saying that may change now in light of this how does this event change the ongoing negotiations especially that that uh Crossing Point yes I want to take you through a little bit about what occurred over the past week I spoke this morning with a senior Israel official who indicated last week at a cabinet meeting Israel's defense minister yav Galant and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu got in a screaming match over what to do next with the Philadelphia Corridor this is a strip of land about the width of a football field that sits between Gaza and Egypt and currently Israeli forces are deployed throughout this area to prevent smuggling across the border and to secure this area now this is largely seen as a sticking point in the negotiations indirectly between Israel and Hamas Hamas says if there are Israeli forces there they're not willing to accept a ceasefire deal so Israel's defense minister said look we need to get the hostages home and we are willing to do whatever it takes even if that means temporarily removing forces from the area Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would not go for that and the majority of the cabinet actually voted against the Israeli defense minister and so today Gallant called again for another vote on this very issue trying to get the cabinet to see that if there is not a deal to remove remve Israeli forces from the Philadelphia Corridor there won't be a ceasefire deal and the remaining more than 100 hostages some of them dead and some of them alive will remain inside Gaza real quick Trey is a is a cabinet vote is that binding is that just for public consumption like how how does that work what does a vote mean yeah so it's how the decisions are made in Israel at the military level at this point in the war remember there was a specific War cabinet that actually had members of the previous opposition within it that was dissolved and there was a larger cabinet now that's making most of the decisions about what to do with the war inside Gaza and I'm going to paraphrase here what Minister Galan said to the Prime Minister last week he said to him you're able to bring anything you want as prime minister to a vote in this cabinet including the execution of hostages he wanted to make a point to the Israeli Prime Minister that if they don't get a ceasefire deal now this will cost the lives of Israeli hostages and that's exactly what happened Trey I'm curious you're you're there in Israel what is the feeling of the Israeli people because I know that there's a lot of consternation a lot of debate there are those who say they want the military to do whatever it takes to get rid of Kamas to to to to end that problem with Hamas and then there are those that say we need to prioritize these hostage these hostages which include American citizens Israeli citizens and from others from around the world so the country is very divided on this issue and it's part of the reason you've seen protests in the streets calling for a ceasefire deal but also there is a portion of this population especially those who are supportive of the lud party of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu that want the war to continue whether or not there is a deal to get the hostages out and just as we're speaking here I got a text message from a senior Hamas official commenting on what President Biden said earlier today the outrage that he expressed about the killing of these Israeli hostages is and I'm just reading through it here as we talk and I'm not going to read it to you because much of it is propaganda coming from Hamas but he blames President Biden for supporting the Israelis throughout this war and look Hamas doesn't want to accept any responsibility for killing the hostages they want to blame Israel and the United States but the reality is according to the IDF these hostages were actually executed in the recent days as Israeli forces moved in and it gives you a sense of the pressure right now on these negotiations that are still ongoing at the working level in Doha there's a lot of pressure because if there is not a ceasefire agreement it means the war continues and the hostages dozens of them that are still alive inside Gaza their lives are currently at risk trey real quick I know you're just reading through that as as you're on TV right now does Hamas ever deny the accusation that they were murdered or executed does Hamas ever deflect in that way they do and in this new book that I wrote Black Saturday discussing the October 7th Massacre I actually questioned senior Hamas leadership about that morning where we saw the massacre unfolding before our eyes our cameras captured the aftermath in the Kut seim in ber in kafara in neose we saw what Hamas did on that morning yet the organization wants to pretend like it didn't happen they sent us statements and videos claiming that they didn't kill civilians that's simply a lie yeah uh one last thing Trey um as it pertains to Hamas is it a functioning with these negotiations do do we what do we know about the extent to which Hamas controls and knows where all the hostages are like are we really negotiating with one entity or are there different wings that control different hostages with different incentive structures like how much does one person control these negotiations it's a great question and look the man in charge of negotiations for Hamas is yak sinir one of the masterminds behind the October 7th Massacre there were three of them Muhammad de who was killed in an air strike that Israel conducted in southern Gaza earlier this year Ismael Khia the political leader of Hamas who was killed in tan earlier this year the only remaining Hamas official at the very top of the chain to make decisions for the organization about the possibility of a ceasefire is yakas sinir a man who according to Israeli media reports is surrounded in the tunnels beneath Gaza with hostages he understands that if he comes above ground by himself he will be taken out in a Target strike by the Israelis and it's part of the reason he has surrounded himself with hostages because he wants to stay alive as long as possible and look this is someone who previously was held in an Israeli prison he was released as part of a prisoner exchange at a thousand to1 exchange and that is part of the reason there is some pressure right now on the Israelis about the exchange rate for hostages to Palestinian prisoners because they do understand that if they release top Terror leaders from Israeli prisons some of them will go back to to committing attacks against Israel Trey the hostage families um the ones that are remaining alive uh Pete mentioned probably from our last guest probably about 50 of them they they they suspect Jonathan what was his name again conriquez conriquez thank you Jonathan krias estimates about 50 of them what where where are these families at now I mean they just saw what happened uh yesterday where are they at do they feel like their political organization and pressure on the government will have any positive outcome what's going to happen with them the majority of the families of Israeli hostages believe that their government has failed them and it's part of the reason they are in the streets calling for a ceasefire because 331 days into this conflict there are still more than a 100 Israelis both dead and alive inside the Gaza Strip and it is devastating for this population just last week we went to a funeral for a young 34-year-old named AEV who was at his home in Nim a small community in southern Israel when he was dragged along with his wife Ron into the Gaza Strip he's a Man Who Loved animals and music and he was slaughtered he was at home and and we went to that funeral we we talked to the family from the days after Black Saturday the days after the October 7th Massacre and his mother and his sister spent each and every day pleading with the government to cut a ceasefire deal they spent each and every day calling for yevs releas and the last time that we saw the two of them they stood over his grave as they buried this young Israeli and that is what so many families here are worried about that they will have the same fate they will be attending the funerals of their loved ones and that's why there's so much pressure on this situation because we talk about the numbers we talk about 331 days into this war the more than 100 Israelis that are held inside Gaza both dead and alive but each one of those numbers is a human it's a family member it is someone affected by that that Massacre and they were dragged into Gaza against their will and the decisions that are made by this government as we speak will have direct impacts on the Israeli people and the entire world that is watching what happens to this country well Trey uh great reporting thanks so much by the way folks should check out black Saturday Trey's book as a definitive account of what occurred and give you a better sense of where we are right now Trey uh thank you so much thanks