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The military wing of the Hamas Movement announced on December 8 that it had foiled an attempt by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) to free one of the Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip.
In a statement, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades said that its fighters discovered a special forces unit of the IDF mounting a rescue operation and attacked it, killing and wounding several soldiers. It did specify the location of the incident.
It said a captive Israeli soldier was killed, naming him as Sa’ar Baruch, 25. Lists of the hostages published by Israel identify one of them as Sahar Baruch, a civilian student who was 24 when he was seized from his home during the October 7 Hamas-led surprise attack which sparked the war in Gaza.
The IDF, which is waging a ground operation in Gaza designed in part to recover 138 remaining hostages held by Hamas and other Palestinian armed factions, has not yet commented on the claims.
During the temporary ceasefire in Gaza, which went on from November 24 to December 1, Hamas released 105 hostages: 81 Israelis, 23 Thai nationals and one Filipino. From its side, Israel freed at least 240 Palestinians, all women and children, from its prisons.
Efforts to renew the ceasefire and secure the release of the remaining hostages are reportedly facing major obstacles. No progress was reported in recent days.
Hamas demands the release of all remaining Palestinian in Israeli prisons in exchange for the hostages. A demand that Israel is yet to accept.
