(Aug. 8, 2026 / JNS) The Israeli embassy in Washington marked on Saturday the Hebrew calendar-dated second yahrzeit—the anniversary of a person’s death—of six hostages who were murdered by Hamas terrorists in a tunnel in Rafah, the southern Gaza Strip, in August 2024. Hostages and Missing Families ForumDemonstrators in support of Israel gather to denounce antisemitism and call for the release of Israeli hostages on the National Mall in Washington, DC, on Nov.14, 2023. The hostages were found in a 65-foot-deep tunnel with gunshot wounds to the head and other parts of their bodies. One of the hostages showed signs of being tied up, and they all showed evidence of neglect and not having bathed for a long time. The hostages are believed to have been transported from the northern Gaza Strip to the south, where they were murdered.