The Israel Defense Forces reported the deaths of the paramedic who “left his home to save lives” and the four Israelis who were taken prisoner by Hamas on October 7.
The IDF said that the relatives of hostages Yoram Metzger, Amiram Cooper, Haim Perry, and Nadav Popplewell were told that their loved ones were “no longer alive” and that Hamas now possessed their corpses.
“Our hearts go out to their families,” IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari stated. “We are sorry. We couldn’t save them in time.”
Hagari also declared the death of Dolev Yehud, a 35-year-old paramedic, who passed away on October 7.
Hagari stated, “He left his home to save lives,” and mentioned that Yehud is survived by his three children and his expectant wife. “He was murdered by Hamas.”
The murders were revealed at the same time as right-wing ministers in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration, who are against any kind of agreement with Hamas, were contesting an Israeli cease-fire proposal supported by President Joe Biden.
The IDF stated that intelligence was the basis for its decision to “announce the four hostages dead.”
Hagari stated of Popplewell, Metzger, Cooper, and Perry, “We estimate that the four of them were killed together in the Khan Yunis area several months ago while being held by Hamas terrorists.”
Hagari did not explain their demise. However, in March, Perry, Metzger, and Cooper were among the seven hostages who perished in an Israeli airstrike on Gaza, according to Al-Qassam Brigades spokeswoman Abu Ubaida.
According to Israeli media, Popplewell appeared in a propaganda video that Hamas released last month.
51-year-old Popplewell, a dual citizen of Israel and Britain, had been kidnapped along with his mother from their kibbutz residence in Nirim. Israeli media said that his brother, Roi Popplewell, was killed in the incident.
“Kibbutz Nirim announces with deep sorrow the death of abductee Nadav Popplewell in the captivity of Hamas in Gaza,” the community stated on Monday.
Hanna Perry, Popplewell’s aging mother, was one of the over a dozen Israeli captives freed on Nov. 24 as part of a provisional cease-fire agreement.
The 80-year-old Nir Oz kibbutz resident Metzger was last seen in a Hamas video from December.
“He looks very sick, also his friends,” the younger Metzger stated. “We are really worried about their condition.”
Hagari stated that Perry, who was eighty as well, resided on the same kibbutz as Metzger.
“Haim was a peace activist,” Hagari stated. “He believed, he fought, for coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians. Haim was a volunteer who used to transport sick children from Gaza to receive medical treatment in Israel.”
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According to Hagari, Cooper, who is 85 years old, was one of the kibbutz’s founders.
At first, Yehud was also thought to have been kidnapped by Hamas. However, the Israelis identified Yehud’s body after reexamining the bones of the dead discovered at the Nir Oz kibbutz and learning that he was not being detained in Gaza, according to the IDF.
The National Institute of Forensic Medicine and the Shura military base recognized his remains, according to the IDF.
About eight months after being kidnapped in a devastating surprise attack by Hamas that ignited the continuing conflict in Gaza, around 125 Israeli hostages are still held captive.
