JERUSALEM – An Israeli soldier seized by Hamas fighters during their October 7 attack was killed the same day and his body is being held in Gaza, the army and a campaign group said on Sunday.
The Israeli army confirmed the death of Sergeant Oz Daniel, 19, while the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said his remains are held in the Palestinian territory.
“Oz’s body is still held captive by Hamas,” the forum said in a statement.
Daniel was a guitar player who “believed in the power of music to change the world,” the forum said.
During the October 7 attack, Palestinian fighters abducted around 250 Israelis and foreigners to the Gaza Strip.
Around 130 are still held captive there. This includes 31 who are believed dead, among them six soldiers, according to Israeli figures.
More than 100 of those captured have been freed, many exchanged for Palestinian prisoners during a week-long truce that ended on December 1.
Israeli soldiers killed three hostages mistakenly, while three others have been rescued in military operations carried out in the Gaza Strip.
The unprecedented October 7 Hamas attack resulted in the deaths of around 1,160 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.
Israel’s relentless bombardment and ground offensive in Gaza has since killed 29,692 people, mostly women, children and adolescents, according to the latest toll from the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.