Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Sunday to "settle the score" with Hamas after the Israeli military had recovered the bodies of six hostages from an underground tunnel in the Rafah area.

"Those who kill hostages do not want an agreement" for a Gaza truce, Netanyahu said in a statement, telling Hamas leaders that "we will hunt you down, we will catch you and we will settle the score."

Netanyahu also said the Israeli government was committed to achieving a deal to release those remaining in captivity and protects the country's security.

The six recovered bodies were from about 250 hostages taken in Hamas' killing spree through southern Israel on October 7 that sparked the conflict in Gaza.

The Israeli military said on Sunday the six people were apparently killed not long before Israeli troops reached them according to initial estimation.

The military has named the hostages as Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi and Master Sgt Ori Danino and said their bodies had been "returned to Israeli territory."