Palestinian extremist organization Hamas says it has lost contact to a militant group said to be holding five hostages in the Gaza Strip that were abducted from Israel on October 7. Communications were interrupted following an Israeli airstrike on Gaza, a spokesman for the al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s armed wing, said on Saturday. The organization believes the five hostages were killed during Israeli attacks but did not provide evidence to back up its claim. It was initially not possible to independently verify the claim. On October 7, Hamas fighters and other militant groups committed the wors…