The military arm of the group confirms the news after an investigation although it does not specify when the captives died.
The military wing of the Palestinian group Hamas says seven more captives held in the Gaza Strip have died as a result of Israeli bombardment of the besieged enclave.
Abu Obeida, spokesman for Hamas' Qassam Brigades, made the statement on the Telegram app on Friday.
The group said it confirmed the news following investigations carried out in recent weeks after losing contact with the fighters holding the captives.
Hamas captured about 250 Israelis and foreigners during its October 7 attacks on southern Israel, of whom about 130 are believed to remain captive.
The Qassam Brigades said three of the captives mentioned in Friday's statement had been identified, but did not clarify when the seven died.
The group said the total number of captives killed as a result of Israeli military operations “may have exceeded” 70.
'Second priority' for Israel
The deaths of the captives show that Israel's government considers them a “secondary priority,” Omar Ashour, a professor of security and military studies at the Doha Institute of Graduate Studies, told Al Jazeera.
“He [Israeli military’s] The first priority is to destroy the armed wing of Hamas and the other Palestinian factions, to undermine them in any way, even if that costs the lives of some of the hostages,” Ashour said.
The deaths reported on Friday also indicate that Israel's war strategy is not achieving its objectives, he said, adding: “We are on day 147 of the war, and there are more and more hostages dying, most of them from Israeli fire. “.
During a week-long truce brokered by Qatar in November, 105 captives were freed in exchange for 150 Palestinian women and children held in Israeli prisons.
“The only way to safely release the hostages is as it was done before: through some type of negotiation. The Israeli government knows it… They just don't want to admit it,” Ashour said.
Truce talks continue
Israel's war on Gaza has killed at least 30,228 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The death toll in Israel from the October 7 attacks stands at 1,139.
Egyptian, Qatari and American mediators are currently fighting to close a new truce.
In telephone conversations Thursday, the leaders of the three countries laid out what a ceasefire agreement could look like, the White House said.
“The leaders stressed that the release of the hostages would result in an immediate and sustained ceasefire in Gaza for a period of at least six weeks,” the White House said.
However, the Israeli news site Walla, citing a senior Israeli official, reported that Israel has told Egypt and Qatar that it will not proceed with ceasefire negotiations until Hamas sends it a list of Israeli captives still alive in the Gaza Strip.
The official said Israel is also seeking a “serious response” from Hamas on the number of Palestinian prisoners it is requesting be released as part of a possible deal, Walla reported.
