By Zein Khalil
JERUSALEM (AA) - The Israeli army confirmed Monday that four hostages kidnapped on Oct. 7 last year by Hamas had died while being held captive in Gaza.
At a press briefing, Israeli army spokesperson Daniel Hagari said the military will "thoroughly investigate" the circumstances of their deaths but didn't directly blame Hamas.
Hagari identified them as Chaim Peri, 79, Amiram Cooper, 84, Yoram Metzger, 80, and Nadav Popplewell, 51.
He noted that the four hostages were killed months ago while being held by Hamas in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip during an Israeli army operation there.
"We are examining the circumstances of the deaths in-depth, looking into all possibilities," Hagari added.
In March, Hamas’s armed wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, said that seven hostages were killed due to Israeli airstrikes on Gaza, including Peri, Metzger and Cooper.
Al-Qassam also said last month that Popplewell, a dual Israeli-British citizen, was killed in his place of captivity in Gaza by Israeli bombardments a month ago.
According to updated Israeli figures, there are currently 121 Israelis being held in the Gaza Strip, including an unspecified number of corpses.
Israel has continued its brutal offensive on Gaza following a cross-border attack on Oct. 7 last year by the Palestinian group Hamas, despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.
More than 36,400 Palestinians have since been killed in the enclave, the vast majority being women and children, and over 82,600 others injured, according to local health authorities.
Nearly eight months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.
Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which in its latest ruling ordered it to immediately halt its operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.
*Writing by Ahmed Asmar