The armed wing of Hamas said late on Friday that seven hostages it was holding in the Gaza Strip had died in recent weeks during Israeli shelling of the Palestinian territory, AFP reported.

Protest in front of the Knesset building for the release of Israeli hostages from GazaPhoto: DEBBIE HILL/UPI/Profimedia

“In recent weeks, we have confirmed the death of several of our fighters and seven enemy prisoners in the Gaza Strip as a result of Zionist shelling,” said Abu Obeida, a spokesman for the Al-Qassam Brigades, the Islamists’ armed wing. in the statement of the Hamas movement.

Hamas fighters said three hostages were among the seven dead, a video the Islamist movement released on Thursday. They said the names of the other four hostages would be released when they were “confirmed”.

The alleged deaths could not be independently confirmed on Friday.

The al-Qassam Brigades made the announcement shortly after the start of the Sabbath, a weekly break in Jewish tradition, and amid negotiations for a new truce in the fighting between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Qatar, the United States and Egypt are trying to reach an agreement before the start of Ramadan, expected to begin around March 11 this year, which would include a six-week truce and the release of hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

About 250 people were abducted and taken to Gaza in an unprecedented attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7, which killed 1,160 people, most of them civilians, AFP reported, based on official Israeli figures.

According to Israeli authorities, 130 hostages are still being held, 31 of whom are believed to be dead, after the release of 105 hostages in exchange for 240 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel during the initial truce in late November.

In response to the Oct. 7 attack, Israel vowed to destroy Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007, and its ground and air offensive has killed more than 30,000 people in Gaza, the vast majority of them civilians, according to Israel Health. Ministry of Hamas.

The Al-Qassam Brigades recently said that “more than 70” hostages may have been killed in Israeli strikes in Gaza.

The families of the hostages are calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to agree to a new ceasefire to allow the hostages to be released.