Daily Times

Hamas’s armed wing said Saturday an Israeli woman taken hostage during the October 2023 attack had been killed in northern Gaza, but Israel’s military said it could not “confirm or refute” the claim.

Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades spokesman Abu Obeida said contact had been restored with the woman’s captors after a break of several weeks, and it was established that the hostage had been killed in an area of north Gaza where the Israeli army has been operating.

Abu Obeida’s statement did not further identify the hostage or say how or when she was killed. The Israeli army said in a statement it was examining the information after Hamas “released footage allegedly showing a hostage who had been killed”. It added: “At this stage, we cannot confirm or refute it. (Army) representatives are in contact with her family and are keeping them updated with all available information.” Abu Obeida said the woman had been held with a second female hostage whose life was in danger.

During last year’s Hamas attack which triggered the Gaza war, militants took 251 hostages, of whom 97 are still held in Gaza, including 34 the army says are dead.

Ten female hostages, including five soldiers, were believed to remain alive in custody before Abu Obeida’s statement, according to an AFP tally. During a one-week truce in November last year, 105 hostages were freed, including 80 Israelis who were exchanged for 240 Palestinian prisoners. The Israeli government has come under immense public pressure to agree a new deal to bring the remaining hostages home while they are still alive. The Hostage and Missing Families Forum campaign group said it had no further information about Saturday’s claim. “Nothing is known other than what Hamas is saying. Our only reliable source is the Israeli army,” the group told.