Palestinian militant group Hamas has claimed that a female hostage was killed during an Israeli operation in the northern Palestinian enclave of the besieged Gaza Strip. Israel said it would investigate the group's claims. In a report, the British media BBC reported this news.
The identity of the woman killed by Hamas has not been released. It is not clear when and how he was killed.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it was yet to “verify or refute” the Hamas claim. However, their representatives are in contact with the family of the deceased woman.
In a statement, the IDF said, 'This evening the terrorist organization Hamas released a document that allegedly killed a kidnapped woman. We are investigating this information and at this stage we are unable to verify or refute it.'
Hamas claimed that contact with the woman's abductors was restored after several weeks. Then his death was known.
Abu Ubaydah, a spokesman for Hamas's military wing Al-Qassem Brigades, said another woman held hostage with the dead woman was wounded and in critical condition.
Israeli authorities believe there are about 60 hostages alive and dozens more dead in Gaza.
Hamas has been identified as a terrorist organization by the United States, the United Kingdom and many other countries.
The news came as Israel launched an offensive across Gaza on Saturday.
According to Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry, Israeli airstrikes have killed around 120 people in the past 48 hours.
On October 7, 2023, Israel launched a counter-offensive in Gaza in response to Hamas' unprecedented attack on southern Israel. In that attack by Hamas, Israel killed about 1,200 people and about 250 people were taken hostage by armed fighters in Gaza.
According to the Hamas-run Health Ministry, Israeli attacks on Gaza have killed nearly 44,000 people and wounded more than 140,000 since the start of the war.
