Israel kills its own soldier captured by Hamas

Relatives of the Israeli captives demonstrate

8 December 2023; MEMO: The Al-Qassam Brigades said an Israeli soldier who had been held as a prisoner of war in Gaza was killed early today after an Israeli special forces unit struck the area he was being held, Reuters reports.

Al-Qassam identified the prisoner of war as 25-year-old Sa’ar Baruch and gave an identification number for him.

It said a number of occupation forces were killed in the resistance’s defence of the area. The Israeli army did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Israel rescued a soldier from Gaza in late October and has said it could mount similar operations to retrieve remaining prisoners of war if possible.

To date, however, its bombing campaign has led to the deaths of more than 60 prisoners of war, according to Hamas.