Hamas’s armed wing has said one Israeli captive was killed in Gaza and two female captives were wounded in a separate incident, days ahead of a new round of ceasefire talks proposed by the United States, Egypt and Qatar.
Abu Obeida, a spokesman for the Qassam Brigades, said in a statement on Telegram on Monday that the Israeli captive was killed by his guards.
Attempts to save the lives of the two seriously injured were under way, he said, adding that a committee had been formed to investigate and that more details would be announced.
Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari said they were looking into the matter. “At this point, we do not have any intelligence … that allows us to refute or confirm the claims of Hamas,” Hagari said in a post on X.
Protesters in Israel protesters have gathered weekly to demand a ceasefire deal that would bring the captives home. The government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been criticised for failing to finalise the deal and also increasing tensions with Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The near-daily border clashes between the Lebanese group and Israeli forces, continuing since the current conflict in Gaza erupted in October, have escalated. Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr was killed in Beirut, hours after the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.
On Tuesday, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is set to hold an emergency meeting following an Israeli attack on a Gaza City school-turned-shelter that killed more than 100 Palestinians.
It will be the 24th special session of the council since the war on Gaza began on October 7.
The UNSC has so far been unable to stop the conflict, as the death toll in the enclave nears 40,000. On October 30, an emergency meeting was held with a call to halt the fighting when the death toll was 8,000, but it has since soared to almost five times that.
On May 24, the UNSC met to pass a resolution condemning the killing of UN staff and aid workers. Since then, another 15 UN personnel have been killed as well as more humanitarian workers.
Gaza’s Ministry of Health says at least 39,897 people have been killed and 92,152 wounded since October. An estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks and more than 200 were taken captive.
Qatar, Egypt and the US have scheduled a new round of Gaza ceasefire talks for August 15.
Hamas has asked mediators to present a plan based on a proposal put forward by US President Joe Biden, instead of attempting to find a new deal.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Monday “about the importance of Hamas’s return to negotiations” this week to finalise “the framework for achieving an immediate and durable ceasefire in Gaza and securing the release of all hostages”, the US Department of State said.
Fidan said that Israel must avoid “provocative actions” that could escalate tensions and said that Hamas had shown a “constructive attitude” in past truce talks, Turkey’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
He added that the assassination of Haniyeh in Iran on July 31 and the “ongoing massacre against Palestinians once again demonstrated Israel’s lack of willingness to establish peace”, according to the Turkish ministry’s spokesperson.
