Hamas announced this Saturday that, due to the bombings by the Israeli Army on the Gaza Strip, it has lost contact with the militants in charge of a group of hostages that it kidnapped in Israel during its attack on October 7, so has warned that three of them could have died.

“As a result of the barbaric Zionist bombing, we lost contact with the group responsible for five Zionist prisoners, including Chaim Peri, Yoram Metzger and Amiram Cooper. “We believe that the prisoners died,” Hamas said in a statement.

The war between Israel and Hamas broke out after a massive attack by the Islamist group on October 7 that included the launching of more than 3,000 rockets and the simultaneous infiltration of thousands of militiamen who killed some 1,200 people and kidnapped another 250 in Israeli towns. close to the Gaza Strip.

Since then, the Israeli Army has carried out a harsh offensive by air, land and sea on the Palestinian enclave that has caused 20,258 deaths, 53,688 injuries and 1.9 million displaced people – almost the entire population – in the midst of an unprecedented humanitarian crisis. precedents.

The attacks only stopped during the seven days of a truce in November brokered by Qatar, Egypt and the United States that allowed the release of 105 hostages in exchange for 240 Palestinians imprisoned in Israeli jails.

After the resumption of fighting, the international community, concerned about the damage caused to Gazan civilians by the war, is putting increasing pressure on Israel to accept a new ceasefire, while the families of the hostages are pressing in the same direction.

However, the chances of a new truce are slim as Hamas rejects any agreement that does not include a definitive ceasefire, while Israel is determined to continue its attacks until it achieves what it calls “the destruction of Hamas.”

Of the 250 people who were kidnapped, an estimated 129 (118 Israelis and 11 foreigners) remain in Gaza and 21 of them have died, according to Israeli authorities.

On the other hand, 110 hostages have been released alive (86 Israelis and 24 foreigners), while the Israeli Army has recovered the bodies of another eleven, including three murdered by mistake by Israeli soldiers.