Israel confirms 4 more hostages have died in Gaza

Israel confirmed Monday that four more hostages have died in Gaza as pressure grows for a deal to end the war in the coastal strip and get all detainees released.

The Israeli military identified the hostages as Haim Perry, 79; Yoram Metzger, 80; Amiram Cooper, 85; and Nadav Popplewell, 51, and said their families were notified.

Perry, Metzger and Cooper had appeared in a December video released by Hamas.

Israel said the bodies of all four hostages are still being held by Hamas in Gaza but that Israel had confirmed their deaths through intelligence and a Ministry of Health expert committee.

The circumstances of their deaths are still under investigation, the military said.

The war between Israel and Hamas is nearing the eight-month mark. A deal to release the hostages and and reach a cease-fire in Gaza has failed to materialize. President Biden, however, announced a three-part proposal last week that would see the hostages released and wind down the war.

Some 130 hostages remain in Gaza, but it’s unclear how many are still alive. Hamas abducted around 240 hostages Oct. 7, when fighters invaded southern Israel and killed around 1,200 people.

Last month, Israeli forces found the bodies of 22-year-old German Israeli Shani Louk, 28-year-old Amit Buskila and 56-year-old Itzhak Gelerenter.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing increasing pressure domestically to get the hostages home. He is also facing international pressure to bring the war against Hamas to an end, as more than 36,000 Palestinians have died.

Last month, an Israeli strike at a refugee camp in Rafah sparked outrage after it created a fire, killing at least 45 people, mostly women and children.

Israel has begun moving its forces into the southern city of Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians were sheltering from the war but have now fled into other parts of Gaza. Israel says Hamas is hiding battalions in Rafah.