Hamas claims woman hostage killed in Northern Gaza

Hamas said Saturday a female Israeli hostage had been killed in a combat zone in northern Gaza and the Israeli military said it was looking into the claim.

Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades spokesman Abu Obeida said that contact had been restored with the woman’s captors after a break of several weeks and it was established that the hostage had been killed in an area of north Gaza where the Israeli army has been operating.

Abu Obeida’s statement did not further identify the hostage or say how or when she was killed.

The Israeli army told AFP it was looking into the claim.

During last year’s Hamas attack which triggered the Gaza war, militants took 251 hostages. Of those, 97 are still held in Gaza, including 34 who have been confirmed dead.

Earlier, five Israeli missiles struck a residential building in the heart of Beirut on Saturday, Lebanese state media earlier reported.

“Beirut, the capital, woke up to a horrific massacre, as the Israeli enemy’s air force completely destroyed an eight-storey residential building with five missiles on Al-Mamoun Street in the Basta area,” the National News Agency reported.

AFP journalists heard at least three large explosions in the capital.

The strikes come after a day of bombardment in the capital’s southern suburbs as Israel fights the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.