TEL AVIV, September 1. /TASS/. Israel’s health ministry has confirmed report that the six hostages, whose bodies were found near Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on August 31, had been shot dead by Hamas radicals, the Israeli foreign ministry said.

"In the examination that was conducted at the National Center of Forensic Medicine, it was established that the six hostages had been killed by Hamas radicals as a result of several point-blank shots," it said on its X page, adding that the six had died presumably two or three days before the examination, or on August 20 or 30.

According to IDF Spokesman Daniel Hagari, the bodies of the six hostages were found in an underground tunnel near the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip late on August 31. He said that the six had apparently been murdered shortly Israeli troops reached the area. He said that the bodies had been found during fighting in the tunnel located one kilometer from another one, where another Israeli hostage had been saved several days before. After he was released, Israeli troops operating in the area were ordered to act with caution but they did not know that more hostages could be somewhere near, Hagari said.

According to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, as many as 101 people are being held hostage by Hamas radicals in the Gaza Strip. Thirty-nine of them are dead and radicals are holding their bodies.

Meanwhile, Hamas claims that six hostages were killed as a result of Israel’s strikes on the enclave.