Israel confirmed on Monday the deaths of two hostages captured by the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the October 7 attacks, including a prominent Polish-Israeli historian.
The families of Alex Dancyg, 76, and 35-year-old Yagev Buchshtab have been informed of their deaths in custody, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement.
According to the Israeli military, their bodies are still being held by Hamas.
The decision to publicly confirm the deaths of the two men was based on intelligence information and was “approved by a committee of experts.” The circumstances of their deaths while in Hamas custody are being investigated, the military said.
The Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum, a body set up by the relatives of those abducted on October 7, organised tributes to the two men.
Dancyg, a Polish historian, worked at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem and was dedicated to promoting closer ties between Israel and Poland, including organizing school trips.
Hostages released after negotiations between Israel and Hamas said Dancyg had given history lessons during their captivity in Gaza.
The Polish Foreign Ministry called him a “man of peace and friendship who made a great contribution to the Polish-Jewish dialogue.”
According to the report, the Polish government had been aware of Dancyg’s possible death since March and would continue to campaign for the unconditional release of all hostages in Gaza.
Buchshtab was meanwhile kidnapped, along with his wife, who has dual German and Israeli citizenship. She was later released.
In a post on the social media platform X, German Ambassador to Israel Steffen Seibert said: “Our condolences go out to her and the entire family.”
“Yagev and Alex were captured alive and should have been returned alive to their families and their country,” the Hostages Forum said.
The deaths were described as a tragic consequence of delays in negotiations over a ceasefire in Gaza, which would see the remaining 120 hostages released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
The forum demanded that the Israeli government immediately agree to a hostage deal. “Every week that passes means less time for the hostages,” the forum said.
