Hamas announces death of two Israeli hostages in new video

Hamas has released a new video announcing that two hostages have died in Israeli strikes on Gaza.

The video showed a female hostage confirming that two men she was held captive with had been killed.

It comes just days after Hamas had broadcast a video showing the three hostages alive, calling on Israeli authorities to work to release them.

Israeli media have identified the woman as 26-year-old Noa Argamani, who was kidnapped during a music festival in southern Israel on October 7. The two - Yossi Sharaabi (53) and Itai Svirsky (38) - were kidnapped from Be'eri Kibbutz.

Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hajari rejected Hamas' claim that the hostages were killed by Israeli fire, calling it a "lie".

"The building in which they were held was not a target and was not attacked by our forces," said, adding, "We do not attack a place if we know that there are any hostages inside it."

After the video was published, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Galant said in a press conference that Hamas was exercising psychological pressure on the families of the hostages.

The three Israelis in the video were among 240 people taken hostage by Hamas during a cross-border rampage into southern Israel on October 7.

Around half of those hostages were released during a short-lived November truce, but Israel says 132 remain in Gaza and that 25 have died in captivity.

Meanwhile, Gaza health officials say, some 24,100 people and nearly 61,000 have been wounded since.