Relatives of hostage confirm death after failed raid
An Israeli imprisoned in the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7 was “murdered” by his prison guards, residents of the kibbutz where he lived and a family association said Saturday. Palestinian Hamas previously said he was killed during a rescue attempt by the Israeli army.
“It is with great sadness and broken hearts that we announce that Sahar Baruch (25 years old) has been murdered,” the Hostage Families Forum and Kibbutz Beeri wrote in a statement. Sahar Baruch was “abducted from his home by Hamas terrorists, then taken to Gaza and killed there,” they said, adding that his brother Idan was also killed on October 7.
Eighty residents of this agricultural village in southern Israel, just a few kilometers from the Gaza Strip, were killed in the attack carried out by Hamas commandos infiltrated from the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli army acknowledged on Friday the failure of a hostage rescue operation in which two soldiers said they were seriously injured.
For its part, Hamas's armed wing claims to have “thwarted an Israeli attempt to rescue a hostage by spotting members of Israel's special forces sneaking into the center of the Gaza Strip” who had “slid into an ambulance.”
A press release reported “heavy exchanges of fire” in which several soldiers were injured and “one hostage killed.” Hamas then released an unauthenticated video in which we see the remains of Sahar Baruch.
According to the Israeli government, 138 hostages are still being held in the Gaza Strip after a seven-day ceasefire in late November released 105 kidnapped people, including 80 Israelis, in exchange for 240 Palestinians held by Israel.