Israeli Hostage in Gaza Dead, Say Families

The house in Nir Yitzhak, in southern Israel near the Gaza border, from which the two hostages were snatched on October 7 © Menahem Kahana / AFP
The house in Nir Yitzhak, in southern Israel near the Gaza border, from which the two hostages were snatched on October 7 © Menahem Kahana / AFP
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Israeli Hostage in Gaza Dead, Say Families

The house in Nir Yitzhak, in southern Israel near the Gaza border, from which the two hostages were snatched on October 7 © Menahem Kahana / AFP
The house in Nir Yitzhak, in southern Israel near the Gaza border, from which the two hostages were snatched on October 7 © Menahem Kahana / AFP

One of the Israeli hostages kidnapped during the October 7 Hamas attack has been killed and his body is being held in Gaza, two groups representing hostage families said Tuesday.

Uriel Baruch, 35, a father of two, was taken from the Supernova music festival, where 364 people were killed by Hamas during the unprecedented attack that sparked the war in Gaza.

The Israeli army told his family that his body was being held in Gaza, the Tikva Forum hostages group said in a statement.

Another group, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, also said Baruch had been killed.

It described the techno fan, whose children are aged eight and five, as "a joyful person who loved life and loved to have fun".

"Uriel's body is still being held captive by Hamas," it added.

Militants seized 253 Israeli and foreign hostages during the October 7 attack on Israel that triggered the war and resulted in the deaths of around 1,160 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures.

Around 100 hostages were released during a truce at the end of November, some in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

Israel believes around 130 captives remain in Gaza, including 34 presumed dead.



Gaza Rescuers Say 72 Killed by Israeli Fire

Smoke billows after an Israeli strike in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on June 19, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Smoke billows after an Israeli strike in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on June 19, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
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Gaza Rescuers Say 72 Killed by Israeli Fire

Smoke billows after an Israeli strike in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on June 19, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Smoke billows after an Israeli strike in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on June 19, 2025. (Photo by AFP)

Gaza's civil defense agency said Israeli fire killed at least 72 people in the Palestinian territory on Thursday, including 21 who had gathered to receive aid in central and southern Gaza.

Updating an earlier figure, civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP the death toll had risen to 72, "due to the ongoing Israeli bombardment on the Gaza Strip since dawn today -- 21 of them were waiting for aid.”

The Israeli army told AFP that troops had fired "warning shots" at "suspects" approaching them in the Netzarim area where the civil defense agency said 15 people were killed waiting for aid, but that it was "not aware of any injured individuals.”