On Tuesday, Israel's military sadly confirmed the death of a soldier who was being held captive in Gaza. This acknowledgment came after Hamas, the Palestinian militant group, released a video showing the soldier alive alongside a picture suggesting her lifeless condition.
Who was Noa Marciano?
Noa Marciano, a 19-year-old Israeli soldier, tragically met her end in Gaza. Serving as a conscripted private in the border defense corps. She was one of the estimated 240 hostages taken by Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants during their attack on multiple locations across Israel on October 7, which also saw around 1,400 Israelis killed, including many civilians, according to the Associated Press.
The Al Qassam Brigade, the military wing of Hamas has claimed that Noa Marciano's death was due to an Israeli strike. The images reveal a young woman, likely Noa, lying on a blood-stained bedsheet with closed eyes and a visible head wound. The accompanying caption pointed to her death as resulting from an "air strike by the Zionist enemy" the previous Thursday.
In a statement, the IDF identified Marciano as the woman in the video and said it had sent officers to speak with her family following the release of images. "Our hearts go out to the Marciano family, whose daughter, Noa, was brutally kidnapped by the Hamas terrorist organization," it said. "We are working with all means, intelligence and operational, in order to return the abductees home."
The statement added: "The Hamas terrorist organization continues to exploit psychological terrorism and act inhumanely, through videos and photos of the hostages, as done in the past."
The ongoing Israel- Hamas Conflict
Noa Marciano's death brings the total of Israeli soldiers lost in Gaza during the ongoing conflict to 47. The relentless bombings in the Gaza Strip by Israel, triggered by Hamas' October 7 attack on southern Israeli communities, continue to escalate tensions. Israeli officials report around 1,200 casualties, mostly civilians, and approximately 240 people taken captive in the Hamas attacks.
In retaliation, over 11,200 lives have been lost in Gaza, mainly civilians and thousands of children, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory. The region remains caught in the grip of a prolonged and devastating conflict.
