Student abducted by Hamas is dead, Tanzania says
Saturday November 18 2023
Tanzania’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation January Makamba briefing journalists. PHOTO | AFP
Tanzania has announced the death of one of two nationals taken hostage by Hamas during the October 7 attacks on Israel.
The Israeli government had named two students from Tanzania -- 22-year-old Clemence Felix Mtenga and 21-year-old Joshua Loitu Mollel -- among some 240 taken to the Gaza Strip.
"It's with great sadness we confirm the death of Clemence Felix Mtenga," a Foreign Affairs Ministry statement said late Friday.
Read: Tanzania seeks Israeli help to find missing students in Gaza
It did not say how Mtenga died.
"We would also like to inform the public that Joshua is still missing as we continue to follow his whereabouts," the ministry said.
Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas in response to the October 7 attacks which Israeli officials say killed about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and saw about 240 hostages taken.
The army's air and ground campaign has since killed 12,000 people, including 5,000 children, according to the Hamas government which has ruled Gaza since 2007.