The deaths of six Israeli hostages whose bodies were recovered from Gaza in August were probably linked to an Israeli airstrike against Hamas near where they were being held, the Israeli military said on Wednesday.

The Israeli military shed light Wednesday on the circumstances surrounding the deaths early this year of six male hostages who were found shot in a Gaza tunnel—and whose captors were also found dead at their side.

The six hostages, whose bodies were found in Gaza over the summer, were probably shot in February by their captors as an Israeli strike hit close to the tunnel where they were held, the military said.

The war in Gaza erupted after Hamas-led militants launched a deadly attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing approximately 1,200 people, the majority of them civilians, and abducting around 250 individuals. Of those taken hostage, around 100 remain in Gaza, with estimates suggesting that at least a third of them are presumed dead.