Israeli Armed Forces Report Four More Israelis Who Have Died While Being Held Hostage By The Palestinian Authority Islamist movement "Hamas", reported Reuters, quoted by BTA.
We are talking about people who were kidnapped during the attack by "Hamas" against Israel on October 7 last year.
The four dead men have been identified as 80-year-old Haim Perry, 80-year-old Yoram Metzger, 84-year-old Amiram Cooper and 51-year-old Nadava Popplewell. All four have been shown alive in Hamas videos.
"Hamas" said Popplewell died of wounds sustained in an Israeli airstrike.
Israeli armed forces spokesman Daniel Hagari said new intelligence confirmed the deaths of the four men. The armed forces believe that they died together in the town of Khan Younis, which is located in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, "several months" ago.
"We are investigating in detail the circumstances under which they died and are checking all possibilities. We will soon tell what we have found out - first to their families and then to the public. We will make this transparent, as it has been doing so far," Hagari notes.
Of the total of over 250 people who were kidnapped by "Hamas" on October 7, 120 remain captive in Gaza, according to Israeli authorities.
Around a hundred of the hostages were released in November, and in exchange Israel released Palestinian prisoners, AP recalls.
Israel launched its military operation in the Gaza Strip after the unprecedented attack by "Hamas" against the Jewish state since October 7 last year.
Meanwhile, a group of UN experts called on all countries to recognize the State of Palestine in order to ensure peace in the Middle East, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
The call comes less than a week after Spain, Ireland and Norway formally recognized the State of Palestine, angering Israel, which has found itself increasingly isolated after nearly eight months of war in the Gaza Strip.
Experts, including the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories, said that the recognition of the State of Palestine is an important recognition of the rights of the Palestinian people and their struggle for freedom and independence.
"The two-state solution remains the only internationally recognized path to peace and security for both the State of Palestine and Israel, and a way out of generations-long cycles of violence and hatred," experts say.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry has so far not commented on the initiative, notes Reuters.
Twelve out of a total of 27 member states of the European Union recognize the State of Palestine. Eight of them - Malta, Cyprus, the Czech Republic and Slovakia (until 1993 Czechoslovakia), Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Poland - did so before joining the bloc, even after Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat declared on 15 November 1988 Palestine for an independent state. They were followed in 2014 by Sweden, which became the first country to recognize Palestine after joining the EU. On May 28, these countries were joined by Spain, Norway and Ireland, which officially recognized Palestine.