Hamas seemed to exhibit the remains of two Israeli hostages after threatening Israel that if it did not cease bombing Gaza, they would be murdered on Monday, news agency Reuters reported. A new video apparently showing the bodies of Yossi Sharabi, 53, and Itai Svirsky, 38, who appeared in an earlier video on Sunday was released by the Palestinian terrorist organisation. It also showed a third Israeli prisoner, 26-year-old university student Noa Argamani, allegedly reciting a script in front of a blank white wall, claiming that the two had been slain by Israeli attacks.
Israel's military spokesperson expressed grave worry over the plight of the captives shown in the video, but said that one of them, identified as Svirsky, was not killed by Israeli fire.
Without giving any details about the second person as per the family's request, military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari stated: "Itai was not shot by our forces. That is a Hamas lie. The building in which they were held was not a target and it was not attacked by our forces."
"We don't attack a place if we know there may be hostages inside," he stated, adding that the surrounding neighbourhoods had been attacked.
Reuters was unable to confirm what happened to the three, who were among 240 people kidnapped by Islamist Hamas militants during a surprise cross-border raid into southern Israel on Oct. 7.
Approximately half of those captives were released during a brief truce in November, but Israel claims 132 remain in Gaza and 25 have died in captivity.
On Sunday, Hamas released a video in which it begged the Israeli government to cease its aerial and ground attack and free the three Israelis.
It said, "Tomorrow, we will inform you of their fate."
In general, Israeli officials have refrained to reply to Hamas' public rhetoric on the hostages.
According to forensic officials, autopsy of retrieved captives indicated reasons of death inconsistent with Hamas' claim that they perished in air attacks.
Israel has also said that it is aware of the hazards that its attack poses to hostages and is taking safeguards.