The Israeli army reported the death of Noa Marciano, a female soldier held captive in Gaza by the Palestinian militant group Hamas, on Tuesday.
A day after the army confirmed her identification following Hamas’ release of a video showing the young woman in captivity, the army issued a statement calling Marciano “a fallen IDF soldier abducted by a terror organization.”
On Monday, Hamas’ military branch released a video of Marciano identifying herself and pleading with Israel to end its bombing campaign, which was paired with an image of her apparently dead.
Marciano was murdered in an Israeli strike, according to Abu Obeida, a spokesman for Hamas’ military wing. The Israeli army did not specify how she died.
Marciano’s death raises the total number of Israeli troops killed in Gaza to 47 since the conflict began.
Since Hamas gunmen carried out the worst attack on southern Israeli communities in the country’s history on October 7, Israel has been continuously pounding the Gaza Strip.
According to Israeli sources, the Hamas attacks killed over 1,200 individuals, the majority of whom were civilians, and captured approximately 240 others.
According to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza, more than 11,200 individuals have been killed in retaliatory Israeli strikes, the vast majority of them were civilians, including thousands of children.