The government in Gaza asserted in January that both Svirsky and another hostage, Yossi Sharabi, 53, were killed due to Israeli air strikes. Earlier, the Israeli occupation forces claimed an investigation concluded that the deaths of six other hostages discovered in a Gaza tunnel in August were due to gunfire from Hamas, however in reality, they died due to an Israeli air strike.

The bodies of Yagev Buchshtab, 35, Alexander Dancyg, 76, Avraham Munder, 79, Yoram Metzger, 80, Chaim Peri, 79, and Nadav Popplewell, a 51-year-old British-Israeli dual national, were recovered alongside their six Hamas guardians in the southern Khan Younis area. The military stated that it was "highly probable" the hostages' deaths were associated with a February strike targeting Hamas commanders at a nearby underground site.