JERUSALEM (AP)— Two Israeli men who were captured in Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack have been confirmed dead after the militant group released a video saying they were killed in Israeli airstrikes.
A forum for families of hostages released statements Tuesday confirming that Yossi Sharabi, 53, and Itai Svirsky, 38, had died in captivity in Gaza. They did not say how the men died.
The two were kidnapped from Kibbutz Be’eri, one of several communities near Gaza that Hamas and other militants overran after breaking through Israel’s border defenses. The attack ignited the war in Gaza, which is still raging.
Hamas released a video on Monday showing Sharabi and Svirsky giving statements on camera, likely under duress, followed by images of what appeared to be their dead bodies. It said they were killed in Israeli airstrikes.
Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the Israeli military spokesperson, said Monday that the army had feared for their lives. He said Israeli forces had struck a building near where the hostages were being held but did not know their location at the time.
Hamas and other militants captured some 250 people in the Oct. 7 attack. More than 100 were released in November during a weeklong cease-fire in exchange for the release of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Most of the rest are still in captivity.
Hamas has said no more hostages will be released until there is a permanent cease-fire.
Meanwhile, medicine for hostages was en route to Gaza on Wednesday after Qatar and France mediated a deal between Israel and Hamas — the first agreement between the two since a weeklong cease-fire broke down in November.
The deal came more than 100 days into a conflict that shows no sign of ending and has sparked tensions across the Middle East, with a dizzying array of strikes and counterstrikes in recent days from northern Iraq to the Red Sea and from southern Lebanon to Pakistan.
The United States launched the third strike in recent days against the Houthi rebel group in Yemen, according to a U.S. official. The Houthis have attacked shipping in the crucial Red Sea corridor, saying they seek to halt Israel’s war in Gaza against Hamas.
In northern Gaza, Palestinian militants battled Israeli forces and launched a barrage of rockets from farther south. The Palestinian death toll rose to 24,285 people, Gaza's Health Ministry said Tuesday. In Israel, around 1,200 people were killed during Hamas' Oct. 7 attack that sparked the war and saw some 250 people taken hostage by the militants.