The Israeli army announced on Friday that it had found the body of a soldier who had been held by Hamas in a building near Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza.
The Israeli military clarified that they had found the body of the soldier, identified as Noa Mariano, 19 years old, who had been held by Hamas. The group had previously reported her death due to Israeli airstrikes on Gaza.
In a statement, the Israeli army said, “The body of soldier Noa Mariano was recovered by the Israeli army from a building adjacent to Al-Shifa Hospital in the Gaza Strip and was transported to Israeli territory,” according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Hamas had released a photo on Monday showing Mariano dead, asserting that she was killed in an Israeli airstrike.
The Israeli army confirmed the soldier’s death on Tuesday after Hamas had released a video of her alive and then later shared pictures claiming they were of her body following her alleged killing in an Israeli airstrike.
Hamas had captured the Israeli soldier following their attack on settlements in the Gaza envelope on October 7th of last year.
It’s worth noting that this is the second body discovered by Israeli forces of individuals held by Hamas, following their earlier announcement of finding the remains of the captive Jew, Yehudit Weiss.
The Israeli army reported finding the body of the captive woman in a building near Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza, which Israeli forces had besieged and entered.
They added that “the woman’s body was identified by forensic medicine, and her family was notified.”
On several occasions, Hamas has claimed that Israeli airstrikes on Gaza have resulted in the deaths of captives.
The Israeli airstrikes on Gaza have led to the deaths of over 11,000 people in the besieged enclave.
