Hamas’ armed al-Qassam Brigades reported in a video on its Telegram channel on Sunday that three hostages, including a U.S. citizen, were killed during an Israeli military operation on Saturday.
The operation, conducted in central Gaza’s al-Nuseirat, successfully freed several hostages.
The video did not reveal the identities of those killed but displayed three unidentifiable bodies with their faces censored. It also included a message stating, “Your captives will not be released unless our prisoners are freed.”
During the operation, the Israeli military rescued four hostages held by Hamas. However, the operation also resulted in the deaths of 274 Palestinians, according to Palestinian medics.
This death toll is the highest within a 24-hour period in the Gaza conflict for months, with many women and children among the casualties.
Hamas initially claimed on Saturday that some hostages were killed during the operation, but this was quickly dismissed as a “blatant lie” by an Israeli military spokesman.