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Tanzania’s foreign ministry confirmed the murder of one of its citizens on Thursday, saying he was “killed immediately after being captured by Hamas” during the October 7 bombings in southern Israel.
The Israeli government identified two Tanzanian students, Clemence Felix Mtenga, 22, and Joshua Loitu Mollel, 21, as missing since the attack.
Tanzania’s foreign ministry confirmed Mtenga’s death last month, but did not elaborate on how he died.
Foreign Minister January Makamba announced on Thursday that authorities had been “informed by the Israeli government that Joshua Mollel, a young Tanzanian studying in Israel and with whom we have lost contact since October 7, 2023… was killed immediately after being captured by Hamas.”
On X, he stated that Tanzanian authorities were arranging for Mollel’s relatives, including his father, to travel to Israel with a government official to “meet with our ambassador and Israeli officials and obtain more details” about his death.
The two students were among 260 Tanzanian adolescents who traveled to Israel for an internship in modern farming as part of a bilateral collaboration initiative.
Many of the sites hardest hit by Hamas attacks were Israeli agricultural communes, or Kibbutzim, that lined the Gaza Strip’s border.
According to Israel, Hamas terrorists broke across the militarized Gaza border on October 7, killing approximately 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and seizing approximately 240 captives.
During a week-long truce last month, Hamas released hundreds of hostages in exchange for Palestinian inmates held by Israel, while some have been found dead.
Israel has pledged to destroy Hamas in Gaza with a ground, air, and sea campaign.
According to the Hamas-run health ministry, the conflict has destroyed Gaza and killed over 18,600 Palestinians, the majority of whom were women and children.
