IDF confirms death of two more Hamas hostages, Yagev Buchshtav and Alex Dancyg

The Israel Defense Forces confirmed on Monday that two more hostages have died in Hamas captivity – including the husband of the brave woman seen in a now-iconic photo staring into the eyes of her terrorist captor upon her release.

The deaths of the two Israelis Alex Dancyg (76) and Yagev Buchshtav (35) were confirmed several months ago when they were held together in Khan Younis, the Israeli army said, citing new intelligence information from its operation in the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli military did not provide any further details on the condition of the victims’ bodies and said they were currently investigating the circumstances of their deaths.

Hamas claimed earlier this year that Buchshtav died due to a lack of food and medicine and that Dancyg was killed in an Israeli attack.

Buchshtav from Kibbutz Nirim was the husband of Rimon Kirsht, who was released during the hostage exchange with Hamas in November.

Krisht, who was hailed as a “heroine” after giving her captors a piercing “death stare”, had demanded that they also release her husband or she would not agree to the hostage exchange.

“Hamas terrorists told her, ‘You have two options: either you release yourself voluntarily or we will drag you to the ground.’ They left her no choice,” a family member of Kirsht told Israel Hayom at the time.

“We extend our deepest condolences to the Buchshtav and Dancyg families,” said a statement from the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.

“This morning’s devastating news of their deaths is another stark reminder of the urgency of bringing home the hostages, whose lives are in imminent danger at any moment in the hell of Hamas.”

Yuval Dancyg, Dancyg’s eldest son, lamented the death of the Jewish-Polish activist in a heartbreaking letter on Instagram.

“My dear father, it was not supposed to end like this,” Yuval wrote. “You were taken from your bed that cursed morning, alive and breathing, and you had to return home alive and complete our family.”

“We are sorry we failed in this mission,” the son wrote.

Israel has now confirmed the deaths of at least 44 of the approximately 120 hostages held by Hamas since the terrorist attack on October 7.

While the victims’ families asked for privacy, Israel’s Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial released a statement about Dancyg, the child of Holocaust survivors who spent his life educating others about the horrors of the attempted genocide of the Jewish people.

“Today we deeply mourn the loss of our valued and esteemed colleague Alex Dancyg,” Dani Dayan, director of Yad Vashem, said in a statement.

“Just yesterday we celebrated Alex’s 76th birthday, full of hope that he will soon return to us safe and sound,” added Dayan. “The news of his tragic passing strengthens our commitment to ensure that Alex’s legacy and the stories he passionately preserved are never forgotten.”