Body of Israeli soldier killed on October 7 is held in Gaza, army says | World and Science

The Israeli Army announced this Sunday (17) that a soldier, listed as one of the hostages taken to the Gaza Strip on October 7 after the attack carried out by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in Israel, died that same day.

According to the Army statement, Captain Daniel Perez, 22, died on October 7 last year and “his body is in the hands of a terrorist organization.”

His father, Rabbi Daniel Perez, had said on Saturday night at a rally in favor of the hostages’ release that “all kidnapped hostages” must “return without conditions.”

Perez was on the list of those captured in southern Israel during the attack carried out by Hamas, which left at least 1,160 people dead, most of them civilians, according to an AFP survey based on official Israeli sources.

The confirmation of his death brings to 33 the number of hostages killed, according to Israeli authorities, out of a total of 130 still held in the Gaza Strip.

Last week, the Army announced the death of another soldier on October 7, whose body was also taken to Gaza.

Islamist fighters kidnapped a total of around 250 people, around 100 of whom were released during a week-long truce in November.

In response, Israel launched a military offensive that has so far left at least 31,645 people dead in Gaza, according to the territory’s Ministry of Health, governed by Hamas since 2007.