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Israeli hostage Sahar Baruch has died, according to his kibbutz

Smoke rises from the Gaza Strip after Israeli strikes on Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

(NewsNation) — An Israeli hostage taken by Hamas during the militant group’s Oct.7 attack has died, a statement from his community said Saturday.

The Times of Israel reports that Hamas also released a video that they said showed Sahar Baruch, 25, dead.


Baruch’s brother was killed on Oct. 7, according to a statement Kibbutz Be’eri and the Hostages and Missing Families Forum Headquarters.

“We share in the inconsolable grief of his parents, Tami and Roni, his brothers Guy and Niv, his family, and all who loved him,” the statement said.

The statement says the kibbutz and headquarters will demand the return of Baruch’s body as part of any hostage exchange agreements.

“We will not stop until everyone is home,” the statement said.

More than 130 of the 240 hostages kidnapped in Hamas’ initial attack, which killed about 1,200, are still in captivity. After the incursion, Israel declared war, pounding the Gaza Strip with airstrikes.

The Health Ministry says over 17,400 have been killed in Gaza, and more than 46,000 wounded, in the past two months.

Israeli warplanes struck parts of the Gaza strip overnight in relentless bombardments, including some of the places Palestinians had been told to evacuate to in the territory’s south.

On Saturday, the Associated Press reported that two hospitals in central and southern Gaza received the bodies of a total of 133 people killed in Israeli bombings over the past 24 hours, 

The latest strikes came a day after the United States vetoed a United Nations resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza, despite it being backed by the vast majority of Security Council members and many other nations. The vote in the 15-member council was 13-1, with the United Kingdom abstaining.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.