Israel confirms death of soldier held hostage in Gaza

Cpl Noa Marciano was abducted from a kibbutz in southern Israel on 7 October

The Israeli military has confirmed the death of a soldier abducted by Hamas and held in Gaza following the group's massive attack on Israel on 7 October.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had informed 19-year-old Corporal Noa Marciano's family of her death.

Cpl Marciano had appeared in a video released by Hamas on Monday. The IDF called it "psychological terrorism".

She was one of about 240 hostages taken by Hamas gunmen during last month's attack, which killed 1,200 people.

Cpl Marciano was serving as a lookout at the Nahal Oz kibbutz when it was stormed by part of a wave of gunmen who had burst through the nearby Israel-Gaza border, attacking dozens of Israeli communities, several military bases and hundreds of young people attending a music festival.

As with all the hostages, Cpl Marciano's whereabouts in Gaza had not been known.

Hamas's military wing claimed Cpl Marciano was killed in an Israeli air strike on 9 November, though this could not be independently verified.

Following the 7 October attack, Israel launched a war against Hamas - proscribed as a terrorist organisation by many Western governments, including the UK.

More than 11,000 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. Forty-six Israeli soldiers have been killed in the fighting inside Gaza over the same period, the IDF says.

Since 7 October, Hamas has released four hostages and the IDF has rescued one.