Hamas military wing claims 3 hostages, including American, killed in raid
The Hamas military wing claimed in a statement Sunday that three hostages, including an American citizen, were killed in Saturday's rescue operation in central Gaza that was carried out by the Israel Defense Forces.
The IDF told ABC News on Sunday it had no knowledge of hostage deaths occurring during Saturday's raid on the Nuseirat refugee camp, in which four hostages were rescued.
In its statement, Hamas' Al-Qassam Brigades accused the Israeli government of being untruthful about the circumstances of the raid.
"In exchange for them, your own army killed three of your own captives in the same attack; one of them holds an American citizenship," the Al-Qassam Brigades statement said. "Time is running out. Your government is lying."
A White House National Security Council spokesperson said Sunday they have "seen nothing to corroborate" the claims that three other hostages, including an American, were killed during the raid.
"We have seen nothing to corroborate these claims. We are of course continuing to assess the claims," the spokesperson told ABC News.
At least 274 people were killed when the Israeli military moved into the Nuseirat camp to rescue hostages, the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said Sunday. Israel's military said no more than 100 civilians were killed in the operation.
-ABC News' Victoria Beaulé, Jordana Miller and Michelle Stoddart