A senior Israel Defense Forces officer who had been unaccounted for since the Hamas terror attacks of Oct. 7 is now confirmed to have died in the attacks, the IDF said Saturday.
Col. Asaf Hamami, the commander of the Gaza Division’s Southern Brigade and the most senior IDF officer captured by Hamas, was killed on Oct. 7, the Times of Israel reported, citing the IDF.
The remains of Hamami, 41, are still being held by Hamas, and he is considered by the IDF a “fallen soldier held by a terror group,” according to the report.
The IDF in recent days has confirmed the previously-unknown deaths of several hostages, through new intelligence and evidence gathered by troops, the report said.
It was not immediately clear exactly how Hamami’s death was confirmed.
Hamas’ brutal Oct. 7 terror attacks on Israel saw over 1,200 people killed, atrocities committed against civilians and approximately 240 hostages taken back to Gaza.
About 100 of those hostages were released over a seven-day cease-fire before the fighting resumed on Friday.
According to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, over 15,200 people have been killed in Gaza amid the war.
The United Nations’ chief of human rights has accused both Hamas and Israel of committing war crimes.