Another hostage being held in the Gaza Strip is dead, according to the Israeli government.

Like dozens of others, the man had been kidnapped from Israel by the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement in a terrorist attack on October 7.

The government announced on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter that his body is still in the Gaza Strip.

The cause and time of death were not specified.

It was also unclear from what source Israel learnt of his death.

His wife was reportedly murdered during the massacre on October 7, and two of his three children were abducted to the Gaza Strip.

His 13-year-old daughter and 17-year-old son were released in November as part of an agreement between the Israeli government and Hamas.

Israeli media reported, citing the Be’eri kibbutz where the family lived, that the 49-year-old had already been killed on October 7.

The forum of hostage relatives also reported that Hamas had brought his body to the Gaza Strip that day.

Militants from Hamas and other extremist groups had abducted more than 250 people to the Gaza Strip during the attack.

As part of an agreement, Hamas released 105 hostages during a week-long ceasefire at the end of November.

In return, Israel released 240 Palestinian prisoners from its jails.

Several weeks ago, Israel had assumed that less than 100 of the 130 remaining hostages were still alive.

However, it is now feared that significantly more of them may already be dead.  

(dpa/NAN)