Hamas says 7 Israeli hostages died in captivity; dismissed as psychological terror

On Saturday, communications officers said there was no evidence confirming these hostages had died.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

A Hamas claim that 7 Israeli hostages have died in captivity as a result of IDF airstrikes has been dismissed as psychological terrorism by Israeli communications officers working with hostage families.

The terrorist group alleged that Israeli hostages Yoram Metzger, Haim Peri, Amiram Cooper, Yitzchak Algerant, Alexander Danzig, Ronen Tumi Angel, and Eliyahu Margolit died as a result of Israeli fire.

However, on Saturday, the officers said there was no evidence confirming these hostages had died.

Hamas has been known to use psychological terrorism to torment hostage families and the Israeli public.

In December, the terrorist group responsible for killing 1,200 Israelis on October 7th and kidnapping 250 others released a video showing three hostages including Yoram Metzger, Haim Peri, and Amiram Cooper, and said they would follow up with more information in three days.

However, five days after the video was released, Hamas claimed they had no information on the whereabouts of the three hostages or which terror group was holding them.

There is a sense that Hamas is using similar manipulation tactics in its back-and-forth positions during hostage deal negotiations.

After Egyptian officials indicated a week ago that Hamas was becoming more flexible in its demands, Hamas doubled down on conditions Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called “delusional,” such as a permanent ceasefire, a complete withdrawal of IDF troops from the Gaza Strip and the release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners.

Following Israel’s request for a list of surviving hostages, Hamas refused to provide any information, and as a result, Israel did not send delegates to the hostage deal talks in Cairo.

Last week, a senior Hamas official admitted to international media on Monday that the terror group is unable to provide Israel with a list of the living hostages – one of the conditions for a potential ceasefire deal – because it is unaware of the health and location of many of the hostages being held in the Gaza Strip.

Basem Naim, a Hamas representative, told AFP that “we don’t know exactly who’s alive or dead.”

Some of the hostages may have been “killed because of [Israeli] strikes or hunger,” he said, placing the blame for their potential deaths on Jerusalem.

Naim avoided acknowledging the possibility that some hostages were murdered by their captors or died because they did not receive proper medical care for wounds they sustained in the Oct. 7th terror onslaught.