Hamas militants say two of their guards shot dead a male Israeli hostage held in Gaza and seriously wounded two female hostages.
The Israeli military responded that it “does not have any intelligence that would allow us to refute or confirm Hamas’ claim”.
Abu Ubaida, a spokesman for the al-Qassam Brigades, said on Telegram that the shootings occurred in two separate incidents and that “efforts are being made to save” the lives of the injured.
He did not name the hostages or provide further details about the time and location of the attack, saying only that an investigation was underway.
He blamed the incident on what he called Israel’s “massacre” of Palestinians.
“We will continue to check and verify the reliability of the message and will update with any additional information we gather,” the Israeli military said.
This is the first time Hamas has said its guards killed a hostage in the ongoing war in Gaza. It has previously said the hostage was killed in an Israeli airstrike.
In the past, Israel has dismissed Hamas’ claims that the hostages’ deaths were acts of psychological warfare.
According to Israeli figures, 251 people were kidnapped in the Hamas-led attack on October 7, in which some 1,200 people in southern Israel were killed.
It is believed that 111 hostages kidnapped by Hamas remain in Gaza, including the bodies of 39 people the Israeli military says are dead.
Two other Israeli civilians who entered Palestinian territory without permission are also being held, as are the bodies of two Israeli soldiers killed in the 2014 Gaza war.
At least 39,929 people have died in Gaza during the current conflict, according to the health ministry of the Hamas-run territory.
Hamas’ statement came as talks aimed at ending the war and repatriating the remaining hostages are expected to resume in Cairo or Doha on Thursday.
Israel said it would send a delegation to meet with mediators from the United States, Egypt and Qatar.
Hamas said it had no plans to send negotiators, instead calling on mediators to present a plan to implement what they had agreed after previous rounds of talks.
