San Diego man's father held hostage in Gaza is confirmed dead, as Israel announces four more Hamas victims

Israel's military has confirmed the deaths of four more hostages held in Gaza since the October 7 attack on a music festival. 

Nadav Popplewell, 51, Yoram Metzger, 80, Amiram Cooper, 84, and Chaim Peri, 79, all died several months ago while being held by Hamas in the Khan Younis area, The Times of Israel reported.

Israel's military spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, said the four men died together when the Israel Defense Forces were operating in Khan Younis earlier this year, though he didn't offer a definitive cause of death.

'We are checking all of the options,' Hagari said. 'There are a lot of questions.' 

Hamas claimed in May that Popplewell died as a result of an airstrike but has yet to provide evidence, PBS reported. Months earlier, the terrorist organization Al-Qassam Brigades claimed that Peri, Cooper and Metzger were among seven hostages killed in an Israeli airstrike, NBC reported.

Amiram Cooper, left, and Chaim Peri, right, were part of the same kibbutz just a mile outside of Gaza

Yoram Metzger, 80, and Nadav Popplewell, 51, were among the hundreds of Israelis who were kidnapped by Hamas on October 7

Amiram Cooper has a son named Rotem who lives in San Diego, as as the attacks in Israel were unfolding, Rotem found out that his father and mother Nurit, 79, were abducted by Hamas.

Amiram and Nurit had called Nir Oz, a kibbutz about a mile outside Gaza, their home for seven decades, being among the first to settle there, ABC San Diego reported last October.

Rotem added that his parents told him they locked themselves in a bomb shelter at their home. 

'They told me they basically closed themselves in that room, but there is no way to lock the door,' he said. 

Not long after, he couldn't get a hold of his parents, so he flew to Israel as soon as he could, arriving three days later.

Amiram Cooper (second from the right) and Nurit Cooper (red shirt) are pictured with their family

Amiram is pictured with his grandson

Amiram and Nurit are pictured together. The couple was kidnapped from their home in Nir Oz, a kibbutz just outside of Gaza

Rotem found bullet holes in the door leading to his parents' bomb shelter but no blood stains, which gave him hope that they were still alive. 

Amiram and Nurit were held in the same room underground along with five other residents from the kibbutz, Rotem told The Times of Israel. 

Nurit was released on October 23 and is still recuperating at home with her family.

Metzger, Cooper, and Peri, all near or past 80 years old, were featured in a Hamas propaganda video in December where they are heard pleading with Israel: 'Don't let us grow old here.'

Peri, a resident of Nir Oz along with Cooper and his wife Nurit, explained in the video that he was being held with other elderly hostages with chronic illnesses, and that all of them were living in very harsh conditions.

Amiram and Nurit pictured with their son, Rotem, who is seated next to his father

Popplewell, a British-Israeli, is seen in a Hamas terror video. Hamas confirmed that he was dead mere hours after releasing the 11-second clip

'You have to release us from here. It does not matter the cost. We don't want to be casualties as a direct result of the IDF military airstrikes. Release us with no conditions. Don't let us grow old here,' Peri said in Hebrew.

Popplewell, the fourth victim of Hamas, was a British-Israeli citizen who also was featured in a Hamas propaganda video aired in early May.

Just three hours after releasing the chilling 11-second clip of Popplewell, who was badly bruised but alive, Hamas confirmed that he was dead.

Of some 130 Israeli hostages remaining in the Gaza strip, about 85 are believed to still be alive, PBS reported.

This new information comes as Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected President Joe Biden's ceasefire deal, vowing to continue the war that has killed over 30,000 Palestinians.