GAZA STRIP, Palestinian Territories: The armed wing of Palestinian group Hamas said Monday its fighters had shot and killed an Israeli hostage and wounded two others, both women, "in two separate incidents" in Gaza.

Palestinian fighters seized 251 hostages during their October 7 attack on Israel that triggered the ongoing war, with 111 of them still held in Gaza including 39 the Israeli military says are dead.

Abu Obeida, spokesman for the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, said in a statement: "In two separate incidents, two (Hamas) soldiers assigned to guard enemy prisoners fired at a Zionist prisoner, killing him immediately, and also injured two female prisoners critically."

The statement, posted on Telegram, did not identify the hostages or say when or where the incidents occurred.

Abu Obeida said Hamas had formed a committee to investigate the shootings.

Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, in a televised briefing earlier on Monday, said: "We do not forget for a moment the hostages being cruelly held by Hamas in Gaza."

"We are deeply concerned about their physical and mental condition, given the prolonged time that has passed and the harsh conditions of their captivity."

The October 7 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,198 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

Israel's retaliatory military offensive in the Gaza Strip since then has killed at least 39,897 people, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry, which does not provide details on civilian and fighters' deaths.

 -AFP