Elderly hostage in Gaza was killed in 7 October attack, Israel says
ISRAEL KATZThe Israeli military has said an elderly Israeli man was killed during Hamas's 7 October 2023 attack on southern Israel and that his body is being held hostage in Gaza.
Iraq-born Shlomo Mansour, 86, was abducted by gunmen at his home in Kibbutz Kissufim. His wife, Mazal, managed to escape.
The military said the decision to confirm Shlomo's death was based on intelligence gathered in recent months and was approved by an expert committee of the ministry of health.
His name is on the Israeli government's list of 33 hostages to be released by Hamas during the first phase of a ceasefire deal that is coming under growing strain.
So far, 16 living Israeli hostages have been freed in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails since 19 January. Hamas has also handed over five Thai hostages.
The remaining 17 Israeli hostages - two children, one woman, five men over the age of 50, and nine men under 50 - are supposed to be released over the next three weeks. Both sides have said eight of those hostages are dead but not named them.
On Monday, Hamas warned that it would postpone the scheduled release of the next group of three this weekend unless US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators addressed what it said were Israeli violations of the deal, including delays in allowing in shelters and medical supplies.
The threat prompted US President Donald Trump to propose that Israel cancel the deal and "let hell break out" if Hamas did not release all the hostages by midday on Saturday.
Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said Hamas's move was a complete violation of the ceasefire agreement and told the Israeli military to prepare for any possible scenario in Gaza.
Shlomo Mansour was born in Baghdad and as a child survived the Farhud pogrom against the Iraqi capital's Jewish community in 1941.
He emigrated to Israel with his family at the age of 13 and went on to help found Kibbutz Kissufim, where he worked in the chicken coop and eyewear factory.
On 7 October 2023, hundreds of Hamas-led gunmen stormed the Israel's Gaza perimeter fence and attacked many nearby Israeli communities, including Kissufim. They killed about 1,200 people were killed and took 251 others back to Gaza as hostages.
Shlomo and Mazal - who had five children and 12 grandchildren - fled to their home's safe room that day, but a group of gunmen fired at the door and were able to break it open. Mazal hid in the bathroom, but they found Shlomo, handcuffed him, and took him out of the house.
On Tuesday, the Israeli military said it had informed the Mansour family that he was then murdered by the gunmen and that they took his body back to Gaza as a hostage.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he and his wife, Sara, sent their heartfelt condolences to the family following the "bitter news".
"We will neither rest nor be silent until he is returned for burial in Israel," he added.
"We will continue to take determined and relentless action until we return all of our hostages - the living and the deceased."
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which represents some of the hostages' relatives, said: "We share in the profound grief of the Mansour family."
ReutersOn Monday, in response to Hamas's threat to postpone the next hostage release, the forum called on mediators to help restore and implement the ceasefire deal effectively so that the remaining 76 hostages are brought home.
"Recent evidence from those released, as well as the shocking conditions of the hostages released last Saturday, leaves no room for doubt - time is of the essence, and all hostages must be urgently rescued from this horrific situation," it warned.
The Israeli government was furious at the emaciated state of Eli Sharabi, 52, Ohad Ben Ami, 56, and Or Levy, 34, who were paraded in front of a crowd in Deir al-Balah before being handed over to the Red Cross.
An Israeli doctor who treated Mr Sharabi and Mr Levy said they were in a "poor medical condition", while a hospital official said Mr Ben Ami was in a "severe nutritional sate and had lost a significant amount of his body weight".
Meanwhile, the family of another hostage, Alon Ohel, 24, said on Sunday they had received their first indication in 16 months that he was alive from Mr Levy and Mr Sharabi, who were held captive along with him.
"Since his kidnapping, Alon has been held in harsh conditions in Hamas's underground tunnels, without daylight or access to basic human necessities," a statement said.
"We have been informed that Alon is wounded in his eye. Additionally, he is being held in particularly severe captivity conditions, with serious food shortages."
The Ohel family also urged the Israeli government to advance negotiations with Hamas on the ceasefire deal's second phase, which should see the remaining living hostages released, a permanent ceasefire, and a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
More than 48,200 people have been killed in Gaza since the Israeli military launched a campaign to destroy Hamas in response to the 7 October attack, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.