Foreigners among 13 hostages held in Gaza killed in Israeli airstrikes, claims Hamas

IANS

Jerusalem/Gaza, October 13 

The Al-Qassam Brigades, military wing of the Hamas militant group, on Friday said Israeli airstrikes in Gaza in the past 24 hours have killed 13 hostages.

Without mentioning the nationalities of the victims, the armed wing said "13 prisoners, including foreigners" were killed in five locations targeted by Israeli fighter jets, the BBC reported.

According to Israli authorities, Hamas militants are holding as many as 150 people hostage in Gaza following the October 7 surprise attack.

The hostages include senior Israeli army officers, as well as foreign nationals.

The militant group had threatened to kill the hostages if Israel continued to bomb the Gaza Strip without warning.

The death toll in the raging conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip is nearing 3,000, as violence continued for the seventh consecutive day on Friday.

In an update, Israel Defence Forces (IDF) spokesman Lt Col Jonathan Conricus on Friday said at least 1,300 Israeli civilians and soldiers had been killed since the Hamas launched its brutal attack on October 7, CNN reported.

Conricus added that 3,391 people had been injured in the terrorist attacks.

In response to the attack, Israel is hammering Gaza with airstrikes, hitting hundreds of targets and reducing neighbourhoods to rubble.

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