Israel confirms death of captive soldier shown in Hamas video

Jerusalem: Israel's military on Tuesday confirmed the death of a soldier held captive in Gaza after Hamas issued video of her alive followed by images of what the Palestinian faction said was her body after she was killed in an Israeli strike.

It appeared to be the first time Israel has confirmed such a claim by Hamas, which in the past has said that dozens of hostages from its Oct. 7 attack on Israeli border villages and army bases had died or were missing due to the ensuing Gaza war.

In the Hamas video, disseminated on social media on Monday, Noa Marciano identified herself on camera and said she had been held in Gaza for four days - indicating it was taped on Oct. 11.

The video then shows still pictures of a young woman of similar appearance lying, looking sallow and with her eyes closed, on a blood-stained bedsheet. A close-up image shows a bloody head wound.

A caption said Marciano, 19, was killed "in an air strike by the Zionist enemy" last Thursday.

The military statement did not comment on the circumstances of Marciano's death other than to describe her as an "abductee fatality in the hands of a terrorist organisation". It said she had served as a conscripted private in the border defence corps.