Blood on the ground of a dark, cramped tunnel sealed by an iron door, bullets and a chess set are seen in a video released by the Israeli military of the passageway deep underground where it said six slain hostages were held and killed by Hamas.
The video was filmed by the military last Friday, its spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said, as a forensic team investigated the hostage deaths. It was released to the public on Tuesday after it had been viewed by their families and the Israeli security cabinet.
The six hostages were killed on the night of August 29, Hagari said. Their bodies were found and retrieved by Israeli soldiers in the southern Gaza area of Rafah around two days later.
Hagari said at least two Hamas gunmen shot them dead in the tunnel, which is 20 metres (66 feet) below ground, less than 170cm (5.6 feet) high and about 80cm (32 inches) wide. It has an exit shaft used by the militants, below a children’s room in a house.
The hostages had probably been held in the dank tunnel, where it is hard to breathe and to stand up straight, for some time, possibly weeks, Hagari said.