The organization's military wing confirmed the news after an investigation, but did not say when the prisoners died.
The military wing of the Palestinian group Hamas has announced that seven more prisoners held in the Gaza Strip have been killed as a result of Israeli shelling of the besieged enclave.
Abu Obeidah, a spokesman for Hamas's Qassam Brigades, issued a statement on the Telegram app on Friday.
The group said it confirmed the news following an investigation it conducted over the past few weeks after losing contact with the fighters who were holding the prisoners.
Hamas captured about 250 Israelis and foreigners in an attack on southern Israel on October 7, and it is believed that about 130 of them are still held captive.
The Qassam Brigades said three of the prisoners mentioned in Friday's statement had been identified, but did not say when the seven died.
The group said the total number of prisoners of war who died as a result of Israeli military operations “may exceed 70.”
“Second priority” for Israel
The prisoners' deaths show that the Israeli government considers them a “secondary priority,” Omar Ashour, a professor of security and military studies at Doha Graduate University, told Al Jazeera.
” [Israeli military’s] “The first priority is to destroy Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups and weaken them in any way possible, even at the cost of the lives of hostages,” Ashur said.
He also said that the death toll reported on Friday showed that Israel's war strategy was not achieving its objectives, adding: “As the 147th day of the war has passed, more and more hostages have died. Most of the damage was caused by Israeli shelling,” he added.
During a week-long ceasefire brokered by Qatar in November, 105 prisoners were released in exchange for 150 Palestinian women and children held in Israeli prisons.
“The only way to safely release the hostages is the way it has always been done: through some kind of negotiation. The Israeli government knows that/…they just don't want to admit it.” Ashur said.
Ceasefire negotiations continue
At least 30,228 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's war in Gaza, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health. The death toll in Israel from the October 7 attack stands at 1,139.
Mediators from Egypt, Qatar and the United States are now scrambling to reach a new ceasefire agreement.
According to the White House, the leaders of the three countries outlined what a cease-fire agreement would look like in a telephone conversation on Thursday.
“The leaders emphasized that the release of the hostages will result in an immediate and lasting ceasefire in Gaza for at least six weeks,” the White House said in a statement.
However, Israel's Walla news site, citing a senior Israeli official, reported that Israel had told Egypt and Qatar that ceasefire negotiations would not proceed until Hamas sent a list of surviving Israeli prisoners in the Gaza Strip. .
Israel also wants “serious answers” from Hamas about the number of Palestinian prisoners it is seeking to release as part of the deal, the official said, Walla reported.
