The armed wing of the Palestinian group Hamas has said its militants shot and killed an Israeli hostage and wounded two others, both women, “in two separate incidents” in Gaza.
Palestinian militants seized 251 hostages during their 7 October attack on Israel that triggered the ongoing war, 111 of whom are still being held in Gaza, although 39 the Israeli military says 39 are dead.
Abu Obeida, spokesperson for the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, said in a statement: “In two separate incidents, two [Hamas] soldiers assigned to guard enemy prisoners fired at a Zionist prisoner, killing him immediately, and also injured two female prisoners critically.”
The statement, posted on Telegram, did not identify the hostages or say when or where the incidents occurred.
Abu Obeida said Hamas had formed a committee to investigate the shootings.
Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee said in Arabic on X: “In the last few minutes, the terrorist Hamas published a written report claiming that in two separate incidents, Hamas activists killed an Israeli captive and wounded two women captives.
“At this stage, there is no intelligence document to confirm or refute Hamas’ allegations. We continue to investigate the credibility of the statement and will provide information where we have it.”
Israeli military spokesperson Rear Adm Daniel Hagari, in a televised briefing earlier on Monday, said: “We do not forget for a moment the hostages being cruelly held by Hamas in Gaza.
“We are deeply concerned about their physical and mental condition, given the prolonged time that has passed and the harsh conditions of their captivity.”
The 7 October attack resulted in the deaths of 1,198 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Israel’s retaliatory military offensive in the Gaza Strip since then has killed at least 39,897 people, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry, which does not provide separate details on civilian and militant deaths.
