Israel confirms death of four hostages held by Hamas since October

The Israeli military, on Monday (June 3) confirmed the deaths of four Israeli hostages who were abducted by Hamas on October 7.

Hostages Identified

The four hostages have been identified as 80-year-old Chaim Peri, 80-year-old Yoram Metzger, 84-year-old Amiram Cooper, and 51-year-old Nadav Popplewell.

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As per the Israeli military, the four men were held by the Palestinian Islamist group, which now has their bodies.

Videos posted by Hamas last month had shown all four men alive. However, Hamas as per Reuters later claimed that Popplewell died from wounds inflicted by an Israeli air strike when posting his video last month.

Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, an Israeli military spokesperson, stated that new intelligence led to the confirmation of their deaths. He said that the military believes the four men were killed together in Khan Yunis, a southern city in Gaza, several months ago while Israeli forces were active in the area.

"We assess that the four of them were killed while together in the area of Khan Yunis during our operation there against Hamas."

Hagari assured that the circumstances of their deaths are being thoroughly investigated, with findings to be shared transparently with the families firstand then with the public.

Chaim Peri, who was 80, was at his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz during the Hamas attack. In a conversation with Reuters, his son recounted that Peri tried to protect his wife by hiding her behind a sofa and eventually surrendered to the gunmen to save her.

Amiram Cooper and Yoram Metzger, also from Nir Oz, were captured along with their wives, who were later released during a brief truce in November.

Nadav Popplewell was taken along with his mother from her home in Kibbutz Nirim. His brother was killed during the attack, and his mother was freed in the November truce.

Greatly saddened

Reacting to the Israeli military update on the Oct 7 hostages, and the death of Israeli-British Popplewell, British foreign minister David Cameron said he was "greatly saddened to hear about the death".

"We reiterate our demand for Hamas to send all hostages home," he added.

Of the more than 250 individuals kidnapped on October 7, around 120 remain in Gaza, with many others having been declared dead by Israeli authorities.

(With inputs from agencies)