Hamas said on Dec. 8 that a hostage it named as Sa'ar Baruch, had been killed during an attempted rescue operation.

"At this point, it is not possible to determine the circumstances of Sahar's death, and it is not known whether he was murdered by Hamas or killed by our forces' fire," the military said in a statement.

Baruch was among the 240 hostages seized by Hamas gunmen when they stormed into southern Israel on Oct 7.

More than 100 have since been released under agreements brokered by Qatar and other countries and one hostage was rescued by Israeli forces.

At least 123 remain in Gaza, of whom at least 23 have been declared dead by Israeli authorities.

(Reporting by James Mackenzie; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)