ISRAEL has confirmed the death of a soldier being held hostage by Hamas after the terrorists released a video which they claimed showed her lifeless body.
Cpl. Noa Marciano, 19, of the IDF’s Combat Intelligence Collection Corps 414th was captured by the Hamas brutes on October 7.
Cpl. Noa Marciano
AlamyAn Israeli soldier inspects houses attacked by the terror group on October 7[/caption]
GettyHamas claimed Marciano was killed in an Israeli strike on Thursday[/caption]
The teenager was serving in the Nahal Oz base when it was overrun by terrorists.
Hamas yesterday released footage of the soldier speaking to the camera four days after she was taken hostage.
She identified herself and confirmed she was being held captive in the besieged Palestinian enclave of Gaza.
The horror video then cut to images of what the terrorists claimed was Marciano’s dead body.
Still pictures showed a young woman with similar features to Marciano laying with her eyes closed on a blood-stained bedsheet.
Another image showed a bloody head wound.
A caption claimed Marciano was killed “in an airstrike by the Zionist enemy” last Thursday.
Israel’s military has now confirmed Marciano’s death, recognising her as a “fallen soldier held captive by a terror group”.
They made no comment on the circumstances of her death other than to describe her as an “abductee fatality in the hands of a terrorist organisation”.
The military statement said Marciano had served as a conscripted private in the border defence corps.
It appears to be the first time Israel has confirmed such a claim by Hamas.
The terror group has previously alleged that dozens of its hostages died or were missing due to the ensuing Gaza war.
News of Marciano’s tragic death comes as Israeli forces gear up to storm Hamas’ tunnel network and rescue the 239 missing people being held captive by the terrorists.
Gershon Baskin, who oversaw the last hostage exchange with Hamas in 2011, claimed on Tuesday morning that IDF troops could raid the terrorists’ underground maze in a matter of hours.
The negotiating expert warned Hamas might kill the hostages in response.
He told The Times: “Within the next few days or even hours, if there isn’t a deal for the release of hostages by agreement, military operations to go into the places hostages might be held will begin.
“First of all we don’t know what the results of those [military operations] will be, if the hostages will be freed or killed in the crossfire, and Hamas may also respond by killing hostages in response to Israelis going after them in the tunnels.”
Baskin helped arrange the return of an Israeli soldier in exchange for over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in 2011.
Many of the prisoners who were released, including Hamas ringleader Yahya Sinwar, helped carry out the brutal October 7 attacks on Israel which killed some 1,200 men, women, and children.
Israel claimed on Tuesday to have captured Hamas’ parliament and police headquarters in a move that could mean the end of the terror group’s 16-year tyranny over the Gaza Strip.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant declared Hamas no longer maintained control over Gaza: “There is no power of Hamas capable of stopping the IDF. The IDF is advancing to every point.
“The Hamas organisation has lost control of Gaza, terrorists are fleeing south, civilians are looting Hamas bases, they have no confidence in the government.”
Shortly after his announcement, IDF troops were pictured waving Israeli flags inside Gaza’s parliament building.
The IDF last night revealed it had raided the city’s Al Rantisi children’s hospital where it claimed Hamas operatives were holed up.
It released footage of what appeared to be an underground terror nest littered with babies’ nappies and bottles – possibly indicating hostages could have been held there.
Troops said they found many weapons in the hospital basement, including explosive belts, grenades, weapons and RPG missiles.
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