Thousands of people, some of them weeping, gathered outside Mr Netanyahu's office in Jerusalem.In Tel Aviv, the relatives of hostages marched with coffins to symbolise the toll.

Thousands take to the streets in Israel demanding a ceasefire

- BARNEY DAVIS

The families of six hostages found dead in Gaza have blamed their deaths on the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for not negotiating a ceasefire.

The Israeli military said early yesterday that the remains of the hostages were recovered from a tunnel beneath the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where they were apparently killed not long before troops could reach them.

The bodies of Carmel Gat, 40, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, Eden Yerushalmi, 24, Alexander Lobanov, 33, Almog Sarusi, 27, and Ori Danino, 25, have been returned to Israel, military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said. All six were captured by Hamas during the 7 October attack that ignited the Gaza war.

The discovery sparked calls for mass protests by families of the captives who said their loved ones could have been returned alive in a ceasefire deal.

Calling on the Mr Netanyahu to take responsibility and explain what was holding up an agreement, the Hostage Families Forum, said: “The delay in signing the deal has led to their deaths and those of many other hostages.”

Thousands of people, some of them weeping, gathered outside Mr Netanyahu’s office in Jerusalem.

In Tel Aviv, the relatives of hostages marched with coffins to symbolise the toll.