IDF announces deaths of hostages Alex Dancyg and Yagev Buchshtav in Hamas captivity
IDF says it is investigating circumstances surrounding the deaths of the two men in Khan Younis, including the possibility they were killed by Israeli fire.
(THE TIMES OF ISRAEL) The Israel Defense Forces on Monday announced that it had confirmed the deaths of two additional hostages in Hamas captivity in the Gaza Strip, after obtaining new intelligence information.
Alex Dancyg, 75, and Yagev Buchshtav, 35, were believed to have been held together by Hamas in Khan Younis where they died several months ago, while the IDF was operating there, according to the military.
The military did not detail the circumstances of their deaths, citing an ongoing probe. The possibility that they were killed by Israeli fire was being investigated.
Dancyg and Buchshtav were abducted by Hamas terrorists from their homes in Kibbutz Nir Oz and Kibbutz Nirim during the onslaught on October 7.
Their deaths were declared by a panel of health experts and members of the rabbinate, following new information obtained by the IDF.
The IDF has now confirmed the deaths of 44 of the remaining 116 hostages held by Hamas since October 7. The terror group kidnapped 251 people during the onslaught. Hamas is also still holding the bodies of two soldiers since 2014 and two Israeli civilians who entered Gaza in 2014 and 2015.
Hamas in March claimed that Buchshtav had died due to lack of food and medication, and Dancyg had been killed by Israeli fire. The claims have not been confirmed by the IDF.

Buchshtav’s wife, Rimon Kirsht Buchshtav, was abducted with him and then released on November 28 in a hostage deal with Hamas.
The couple was together throughout Rimon’s captivity and she didn’t want to leave Yagev behind, but was told to go willingly or be dragged on the floor.
The Hostages Families Forum said the news of their deaths only increased the urgency to secure a deal that would bring home the rest of the captives.
“This morning’s devastating news about their deaths serves as yet another stark reminder of the urgency to bring home the hostages, who face immediate mortal danger every moment in Hamas’s hell,” the forum said in a statement.
“Yagev and Alex were taken alive and should have returned alive to their families and to their country,” the forum said.

“Their death in captivity is a tragic reflection of the consequences of foot-dragging in negotiations. We reiterate our demand to the Israeli government and its leader: Approve the deal immediately and bring back all 120 hostages — the living for rehabilitation and the murdered for proper burial in their homeland. Time continues to run out for the hostages with each passing week,” the forum said.
The families requested privacy from the media in the wake of the news.
Music and rescued animals
On October 7, Rimon and Yagev were hiding in the safe room of their Nirim home. Rimon texted her family that she saw fire and terrorists shooting outside “everywhere.”
She sent her mother one last voice message — Rimon’s parents were also sheltering in a nearby community — “I love you, Mom. I’m so sorry I can’t be there with you. I love you.”
Yagev’s parents live in Nirim and were in touch with them that morning as well. He told his mother that he could hear voices speaking Arabic outside his window and later that they were shooting at his window. She told him to crouch down and stay protected. That was the last communication they had.
It took another week before the army could inform the Kirsht family that they believed that both Rimon and Yagev had been abducted to Gaza.
There were signs of struggle in their safe room, blood and bullet holes, and their cats and dogs — they have five of each — were all missing.
The couple, known for creating a home full of music and rescuing abused animals, had met in high school and then reconnected years later, marrying in 2021.
Yagev is a musician and soundman who builds his instruments, including electric guitars. The couple’s safe room also functions as his laboratory.
Holocaust educator and activist for Jewish-Polish relations
The last time Dancyg’s family heard from him was around 8:30 a.m. on October 7, when he was speaking with his son Mati from his home on Kibbutz Nir Oz, which lies just a few kilometers east of the southern Gaza Strip.
Since that day, when savage massacres were perpetrated at Nir Oz and numerous towns and communities in the region, nothing has been heard of Dancyg, a renowned Holocaust educator and activist for Jewish-Polish relations.
Dancyg, a Polish-Israeli, was born in Warsaw in 1948 to Holocaust survivors, and his family came to Israel in 1957. He has lived at Nir Oz since he completed his military service, and grew peanuts and potatoes there.

He spent his life educating about the Holocaust and teaching other educators, including Yad Vashem guides as well as Polish educators and public figures, how to teach about the Holocaust. He also led a program for 120 Israeli and Polish schools to meet together during Israeli school trips to Poland.
Israel’s Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial mourned news of Dancyg’s death.
“Today, we deeply grieve the loss of our cherished and esteemed colleague, Alex Dancyg. Just yesterday, we marked Alex’s 76th birthday, filled with the hope that he would soon return to us alive and well. Alex’s essence embodied both in spirit and substance, his love for the land and thirst for knowledge,” said Yad Vashem head Dani Dayan.
“His vast library at his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz reflected his deep connection between his cherished Israeli and Jewish identity and his Polish birthplace. Alex successfully integrated these perspectives into his teaching of the events of World War II in general, and of the Holocaust in particular. The news of his tragic death strengthens our commitment to ensure that Alex’s legacy and the stories he passionately preserved are never forgotten,” said Dayan.

Dancyg had been recognized in Poland for his pioneering work and received the Silver Cross of Merit from then-Polish president Lech Kaczyński as well as an award from the Polish Ministry of Education.
The Polish Institute in Tel Aviv, which is connected to the Polish Foreign Ministry, as well as the Auschwitz Museum and Yad Vashem, had all joined a campaign to raise awareness of his plight and to help bring him home.
Murals with the hashtag “StandWithAlex” have been painted in numerous locations around Warsaw since his abduction, and a vigil was held for him and other Hamas hostages in Grzybowski Square in Warsaw on October 16, where a letter written by his son Mati was read out.
comments