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Three Israeli hostages in Gaza caught in fighting who begged to be saved were shot dead by Israeli troops, a months-old audio has revealed.

The incident happened in December, but the audio was aired by Israeli broadcaster Kan on Sunday, with the permission of the father of one of the hostages.

The recording was obtained from a GoPro camera attached to a dog from an Israeli canine special forces unit. The dog was sent into a building where the three Israeli hostages were being held, and although it was killed, the camera was recovered days later.

In the audio the hostages could be heard crying out for help, revealing to Israeli soldiers that they were captives and begging to be rescued.

The soldiers had reportedly thought they were Hamas fighters trying to lure them in, according to an Israeli army investigation.

The Israeli army has shot dead several Israeli hostages in Gaza. Out of more than 250 captured by Hamas on October 7, some 130 are believed to still be in the Palestinian territory.

Hamas says more of the captives have died as a result of Israeli airstrikes on the enclave.

The Palestinian group says its October attack on southern Israel came in response to decades of Israeli aggression against the Palestinians.

Since then, Israel’s air and ground offensive has killed more than 30,500 people in Gaza, mostly civilians.

Mediators are trying to reach a truce deal in Gaza between Hamas and Israel before the start of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which would see hostages released for Palestinian prisoners.

There is increasing local pressure in Israel on the government to release the hostages.