From the Liveblog of
Monday, June 3, 2024
Army announces deaths of four Israeli hostages in Hamas captivity
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
The Israeli military says it has confirmed the deaths of four Israeli hostages in Hamas captivity, after obtaining new intelligence.
Chaim Peri, 79, Amiram Cooper, 84, Yoram Metzger, 80, and Nadav Popplewell, 51, were all believed by the IDF to have been held together by Hamas in the Khan Younis area, and died together several months ago.
The military does not detail the circumstances of their deaths, citing an ongoing probe.
Peri, Cooper, and Metzger were all abducted by Hamas from Nir Oz on October 7, while Popplewell was taken hostage from Nirim.
Cooper’s wife Nurit was released by Hamas on October 23 and Metzger’s wife Tami was released on November 28.
In December, Hamas published a propaganda video of Peri, Cooper, and Metzger, and in March claimed that the three were killed by Israeli strikes.
Popplewell was seen in a separate propaganda video in May, apparently weeks after he was killed.
The IDF has now confirmed the deaths of 41 of the remaining 120 hostages still being held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The terror group had abducted 251 people on October 7.
Hamas is also holding the bodies of fallen IDF soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin since 2014, as well as two Israeli civilians, Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, who are both thought to be alive after entering the Strip of their own accord in 2014 and 2015 respectively.
