International Office looks into Hamas' allegation that an Israeli-British captive was slain in Gaza

A allegation made by Hamas that a British-Israeli captive has passed away in Gaza is being looked into by the Foreign Office.

According to Hamas, which the UK government has designated as a terrorist organization, Nadav Popplewell passed away from injuries he received in an Israeli bombing over a month ago.

On October 7, when militants breached the border barrier and carried out lethal strikes in Israel, Mr. Popplewell, 51, and his mother Channah Peri were taken into custody.

The military in Israel has not yet responded.

According to a Foreign Office spokesman, the agency was looking for further information on the subject immediately.

The department's sympathies, it said, "are with his family at this extremely distressing time."

The family of Mr. Popplewell requested in a short statement sent via the Hostages and Missing Families Forum that media outlets refrain from airing images of him that were made public by Hamas on Saturday and depict him with a black eye while in captivity.

Foreign Secretary David Cameron acknowledged having viewed the footage in an interview with the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg on Sunday morning, but he provided no more details on the investigations.

Lord Cameron said, "Until we have better information, we don't want to say anything."

Hamas, in his words, is "callous" for releasing the film and "playing with the family's emotions in that way".

In October of last year, Ayelet Svatitzky, the sister of Mr. Popplewell, told the BBC about how gunmen had assaulted their kibbutz in southern Israel, murdering her elder brother Roi.

Ms. Svatitzky claimed to have received two photos of the perpetrators sitting in her mother's living room on the day of the incident, sent via her mother's phone. The word "Hamas" was printed in English below.

A few hours later, a third photo of them with an armed Hamas militant in the corner appeared on her mother's Facebook page.

When Hamas and Israel agreed to a brief truce in November, Ms. Svatitzky's mother was freed.

Tales of the Israeli hostages kidnapped by Hamas Families of the hostages "worried sick" for loved ones imprisoned in Gaza

In response to Hamas' onslaught on southern Israel on October 7, during which, according to Israeli sources, around 1,200 people were murdered and 252 others were held captive, Israel began a military operation in Gaza to eliminate the organization.

Since then, the health ministry in Gaza, which is governed by Hamas, has reported over 34,900 deaths in the region.

According to Israel, 128 captives are missing.