JERUSALEM: Two groups representing hostage families announced Tuesday that one of the Israeli hostages kidnapped in the October 7 attack by Hamas was killed and his body is being kept in Gaza.
Father of two, Uriel Baruch, 35, was taken from the Supernova music festival where 364 people were killed by Hamas militants in an unprecedented attack that sparked the Gaza war.
The Tikva Forum hostages group said in a statement that Israeli forces had told his family that his body was being held in Gaza.
Another group, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, also said Baruch was killed.
The techno fan, who had two children, aged 8 and 5, was described as a fun-loving person who loved life and loved to have fun.
The group added that “Uriel’s body is still being held captive by Hamas”.
In the Oct. 7 attack on Israel that started the war, militants took 253 Israelis and foreigners hostage and killed about 1,160 people, most of them civilians.
Hamas had released about 100 hostages during a ceasefire with Israel in late November. Some of the hostages were released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
Israel believes that about 130 prisoners were in the Gaza Strip, 34 of whom have been killed.
