Israeli declares four hostages dead in Hamas captivity
Following the collection of fresh intelligence, the Israel Defence Forces declared on Monday that it has verified the deaths of four Israeli captives held by Hamas.
During a press briefing, IDF spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari stated that while the military would conduct a thorough investigation, it was unable to determine the circumstances surrounding the deaths of Chaim Peri, 79, Amiram Cooper, 84, Yoram Metzger, 80, and Nadav Popplewell, 51.
“We estimate that the four were killed together, in the Khan Younis area, several months ago, while being held by Hamas terrorists and while IDF forces were operating in Khan Younis,” he said.
“I know that difficult questions will arise regarding the circumstances of the deaths,” Hagari added, appearing to reference the possibility that the four had been mistakenly killed by IDF troops or Israeli airstrikes. “We are examining the circumstances of these deaths in depth, looking into all possibilities, and we will present the findings as soon as possible, first to the families and then to the public. We will present [the findings] transparently, as we have done so far.”
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