The Israeli army said a woman hostage whose body was found by troops near Gaza's largest hospital on Thursday was "murdered" by militants in the war-torn Palestinian territory.
"Yehudit (Weiss) was murdered by the terrorists in the Gaza Strip and we didn't manage to reach her in time," army spokesman Daniel Hagari told a televised briefing.
Hamas has repeatedly accused Israel of being responsible for the deaths of scores of hostages through its intensive bombardment of the Gaza Strip.