"IDF representatives have informed the families of Haim Perry, Yoram Metzger, Amiram Cooper, and Nadav Popplewell who were brutally abducted to the Gaza Strip on October 7th, that they are no longer alive and that their bodies are held by the Hamas terrorist organization," the IDF said on Telegram.
The circumstances of the death of the hostages are being established, the IDF added.
"The decision to pronounce the four hostages dead was based on intelligence and was confirmed by a Ministry of Health expert committee, in coordination with the Ministry of Religious Services and the Chief Rabbi of Israel. The circumstances of their death in Hamas captivity are still under examination by all the relevant professionals," the IDF added.