First death of Israeli hostage due to lack of medicine, food: Hamas

Gaza: Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, has announced the death of the first Israeli hostage due to “shortages of medicine and food”.

In a statement on Saturday, the brigades identified the victim as 34-year-old Israeli man Yigev Bukhatab, stating that hostages in Gaza face similar hardships experienced by Palestinians living in the coastal enclave.

The brigades also published a short video clip showing the body of Bukhatab, while there has been no immediate comment from Israel on the report, Xinhua news agency reported.

Hamas kidnapped more than 250 people from Israel during a surprise attack on the southern part of the country on October 7, 2023, which also killed about 1,200 people, according to figures published by Israeli authorities. In response, Israel launched a large-scale retaliatory attack, killing more than 32,000 in Gaza as of Saturday, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry.

After the outbreak of the conflict, Israel also imposed a blockade on the coastal enclave, home to about 2.35 million people, exacerbating severe shortages of essentials such as food, water, medicine, and electricity for local residents.