The Israel Defense Forces says its representatives have informed the families of four hostages being held in Gaza \u201cthat they are no longer alive.\u201d <\/p>\n
The IDF said it had told the families of Chaim Peri, Yoram Metzger, Amiram Cooper, and Nadav Popplewell \u201cwho were brutally abducted to the Gaza Strip on October 7, that they are no longer alive and that their bodies are held by the Hamas terrorist organization.\u201d <\/p>\n
The IDF said the decision to pronounce the four hostages dead was based on intelligence and was confirmed by a Ministry of Health expert committee, in coordination with the Ministry of Religious Services and the Chief Rabbi of Israel. <\/p>\n
The circumstances of their deaths in Hamas captivity are still under examination, according to the IDF, which says it uses a \u201ca wide variety of methods to gather information about the hostages who remain in the Gaza Strip.\u201d <\/p>\n
Chief spokesperson for the IDF, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, said \u201cTheir loved ones were killed a few months ago during Hamas captivity in Gaza and their bodies are still being held by Hamas. We assess that the four of them were killed while together in the area of Khan Younis during an operation there against Hamas.\u201d <\/p>\n
In May, Hamas said Popplewell, an Israeli-British citizen, had died from wounds following a strike by Israeli fighter jets on his place of detention over a month earlier. <\/p>\n
More than 250 people were taken hostage and moved to Gaza during Hamas\u2019 October 7 attack on Israel but more than 100 were released during a temporary truce last year. The Israeli Prime Minister\u2019s Office believes there are still 124 hostages, living and dead, in Gaza \u2013 four of whom were taken before October 7. Of the remaining 120 who were taken on October 7, Israel now believes 41 are dead. <\/p>\n
Israeli War Cabinet minister and Chairman of Israel\u2019s National Unity Party, Benny Gantz sent condolences to the families of those declared dead on Monday, saying on his Telegram channel the news was \u201ca painful reminder of our supreme moral duty to continue to fight against terrorism and to do everything to return all the hostages home as soon as possible, even at painful costs.\u201d <\/p>\n
The latest deaths are likely to increase pressure on the Israeli leadership to secure a ceasefire proposal outlined by US President Joe Biden last week. <\/p>\n
Following news of the four deaths, the Hostage and Missing Families Forum in Israel reiterated its demand to the Israeli government to immediately approve the proposal. <\/p>\n
The organization called the news of the four deaths a mark of disgrace and a sad reflection on the significance of delaying previous deals. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe Israeli government must send out a negotiating delegation this evening and return all 124 hostages, both living and murdered, to their homes,\u201d the group said in a statement Monday. <\/p>\n
\u201cChaim, Yoram, Amiram, and Nadav were kidnapped alive, some of them were with other hostages who returned in the previous deal \u2013 and they should have returned alive to their country and their families,\u201d the statement added. <\/p>\n
The three-phase proposal outlined by Biden on Friday would secure the release of hostages paired with a ceasefire. <\/p>\n
The US president outlined the plan \u2013 which he said was proposed by Israel \u2013 in unusual detail in what appears to have been an attempt to pressure both Israel and Hamas into an agreement. <\/p>\n
On Monday, leaders from the Group of 7 (G7) nations added to that pressure by endorsing the proposal, calling on Hamas to accept it, and claiming that \u201cIsrael is ready to move forward\u201d with it. <\/p>\n
However, whether Israel is, in fact, \u201cready to move forward\u201d with the plan laid out by Biden remains something of an unknown, as the Israeli government has offered a series of non-committal statements that have created a degree of uncertainty about the plan. <\/p>\n
British Foreign Secretary David Cameroon also noted the proposal in a post on the social media platform X, in which he said he was \u201cgreatly saddened\u201d by the death of Israeli-British citizen Popplewell. \u201cMy thoughts are with his loved ones at this terrible time for them,\u201d Cameron wrote. \u201cWith a new deal on the table, we reiterate our demand for Hamas to send all hostages home.\u201d <\/p>\n
The Hostage and Missing Families Forum released the following information on the four hostages declared dead Monday. <\/p>\n