The Israel Defence Forces confirmed on Monday that four additional hostages have died in Hamas’s captivity.
The four men—Nadav Popplewell, Amiram Cooper, Yoram Metzger, and Haim Peri—were captured in the Oct. 7 terror attacks and killed in Khan Younis while the Israeli military was carrying out operations in the area some months ago, the IDF said.
While Hamas still holds the bodies, the IDF said its decision to pronounce them dead was “based on intelligence.”
Hamas still holds about 80 living hostages, with another 43 believed to be dead.
The news comes after President Joe Biden outlined a proposal for a deal between Hamas and Israel on Friday. The first phase of the deal would involve a six-week ceasefire, with Israel withdrawing from Gaza in exchange for the release of certain hostages. Eventually, the deal would aim to end the war in exchange for the release of all hostages.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, a group representing families of those held in Gaza, urged the Israeli government to move forward with a ceasefire in a statement announcing the hostages’ deaths.
“Chaim, Yoram, Amiram, and Nadav were kidnapped alive, some of them were with other hostages who returned in the previous deal—and they should have returned alive to their country and their families!” the group wrote. “The Israeli government must send out a negotiating delegation this evening and return all 124 hostages, both living and murdered, to their homes. It is time to end this cycle of sacrifice and neglect.”
