The Israeli military confirmed on Monday that two hostages, Yagev Buchshtab and Alex Dancyg, were killed while in Hamas captivity in Gaza. The announcement came after recent intelligence findings and was approved by a special committee overnight. Buchshtab's wife, Rimon Kirsht-Buchshtab, who was abducted with them, has returned alive.
"Our last moments together were filled with hugs and kisses. 'I love you, I love you,'” Kirsht-Buchshtab recounted. "Yagev always assured me that if I was okay, he was okay. He said he would be home in a few days.
"We had planned how I would wait for him at home with the cats and dogs. It wasn’t supposed to end like this. My heart is broken. Yagev was a kind, sensitive and beautiful soul, and he was mine."
Sahar Calderon, who was also kidnapped and later released with her brother Erez while their father Ofer remains held by Hamas, shared her memories of Buchshtab. "I met him there and was with him for a few days until he was moved. My heart aches because I know he was alive and the state could have saved him," she wrote on her Instagram story.
The IDF said that Buchshtab and Dancyg were killed several months ago in Khan Younis during the IDF's ground operations in the city, and their bodies are being held by Hamas.
The circumstances of their deaths are under investigation before details are shared with the families and the public. Hamas had announced Buchshtab's death on March 23 and Dancyg's on March 9.
The IDF clarified that the timing of the current operation in Khan Younis is not related to the announcement, which was based on the Chief Rabbi of Israel's decision Sunday night.