The Israel Defense Forces on Sunday denied a claim by Hamas that it had abducted Israeli soldiers during fighting in the Gaza Strip.
“The IDF clarifies that there is no incident involving the hostage-taking of a soldier,” the military said in a brief statement.
A Hamas spokesman earlier claimed the terror group had captured IDF troops in Jabalia in northern Gaza.
“Our fighters lured Zionist forces into a tunnel and ambushed them,” the terrorist known as Abu Obeida said in a video message broadcast by Al Jazeera. “All members of the force were left dead and captured,” he added.
On Friday, the IDF announced the recovery of the bodies of three hostages from Jabalia. Orión Hernández Radoux, 30, Hanan Yablonka, 42, and Michel Nisenbaum, 59, were killed on Oct. 7 and their bodies abducted by Hamas terrorists.
The bodies were found during a joint operation of the IDF and Israel Security Agency based on “precise intelligence” analyzed in the past few days.
On May 15, five Israeli soldiers were killed by friendly fire in Jabalia, where Israeli forces are currently conducting a major operation to quell a Hamas insurgency.
