Carmel Gat: Hostage Killed in Gaza Tunnels — One of Six Bodies Recovered in Rafah
Carmel Gat, a 40-year-old physiotherapist from Kibbutz Be'eri, was taken hostage on October 7, 2023. On September 1, 2024, the IDF recovered her body along with five other hostages in a tunnel in Rafah. All six had been killed at close range shortly before their bodies were found. Footage filmed by her captors in December 2023, and published by the IDF in December 2025, showed her alive at Hanukkah; she was killed about eight months later.
Carmel Gat was a physiotherapist who lived on Kibbutz Be'eri. On the morning of October 7, 2023, Hamas fighters attacked Be'eri — one of the deadliest attacks of the day, in which approximately 100 kibbutz residents were killed. Carmel survived the initial attack but was taken hostage and brought into Gaza.
Evidence She Was Alive in December 2023
Footage filmed by her captors around Hanukkah in December 2023 — about 80 days into captivity — shows Carmel Gat with the five other hostages later found with her, lighting a makeshift menorah in a tunnel. Hamas never released it; the IDF recovered it in Gaza and published it in December 2025.
Bodies Recovered, September 1, 2024
On September 1, 2024, IDF forces operating in Rafah discovered the bodies of six hostages in a tunnel:
- Carmel Gat (40)
- Hersh Goldberg-Polin (23)
- Eden Yerushalmi (24)
- Alexander Lobanov (32)
- Almog Sarusi (27)
- Master Sgt. Ori Danino (25)
Israeli pathologists determined that all six had been shot at close range shortly before their bodies were found (an estimated 48–72 hours earlier). Israel says Hamas killed them as IDF forces approached; Hamas said guards had new instructions if troops neared.
Hersh Goldberg-Polin had lost part of his arm during the October 7 attack; his family had maintained a public campaign for over 10 months to secure his release. His parents were notified of his death within hours of the IDF's discovery.
International Response
The deaths of the six hostages — executed to prevent rescue — triggered mass protests in Israel. Hundreds of thousands gathered in Tel Aviv demanding a ceasefire-and-hostage deal. President Biden, who had been mediating ceasefire negotiations, said he was "devastated and outraged" and that Hamas leaders would pay for these crimes.
Carmel Gat's family has continued to speak publicly about the failure to secure a deal that would have brought her home alive.
