According to multiple intelligence and security sources in the U.S., Israel, and other countries at the highest level, only 20 of the 251 Hamas hostages who were taken by the terrorist group on October 7, 2023, are still alive.
According to a source in the U.S. Government, 20 is “the working number” for those who are believed to still be alive during ongoing negotiations between Israel and Hamas in Qatar.
This figure is an approximation and only includes female Israeli soldiers and civilians.
One senior Israeli source said that the increase could be higher if it included Israeli male soldiers. However, they suggested that it wouldn’t be a significant one.
According to some public estimates, the number of hostages remaining could be as high as 40.
The accuracy of these numbers was not confirmed by either the Israel Defense Forces or the Israeli Embassy in Washington.
Einav Hasari, spokeswoman of the Embassy of Israel said: “We do not have any information on this issue at the present time.”
Lt. Col. Peter Lerner (spokesman for IDF) also refused to confirm the number of hostages that were believed to still be alive.
The transition team of Donald Trump has been made aware of the number of known survivors, and this issue has become a major concern for his team. According to a source in the transition, Trump spoke to Benjamin Netanyahu at least 3 times over the last few weeks.
Trump has threatened serious and deadly consequences if American hostages do not be released.
Trump said at his Mar-a-Lago Press Conference on Tuesday that “all Hell will Break Out in the Middle East”, if the hostages were not released before Jan. 20, his inauguration date.
Trump stated, “It will be bad for Hamas, and frankly, it won’t be good for anyone.” “We want those hostages back for Israel and us.”
Hamas brought 251 Israelis and foreigners from Israel, as well as soldiers, back to the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7, 2023.
In December 2023, a ceasefire agreement that had ended resulted in the release of over 100 of these prisoners.
Israeli authorities have publicly stated that 100 people are possibly still alive, and 36 are believed dead.
The number of people working in the office is less than 100.
Irina Tsukerman is an analyst at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. She said, “I’ve heard many different accounts about the number of alleged hostages. They range from 30 to over 60.”
Hamas deliberately misled and lied, depending on which direction the talks were going. Tsukerman explained that part of the problem is that some hostages are held by other groups than Hamas. This makes it difficult to determine their status.
According to one source, Hamas claims that it has 20 people under its control.
Hamas may not be holding all hostages in Gaza. Other groups or tribal clans could. Hamas has also acknowledged that it holds dozens of bodies of dead hostages whose release is vital to Israel.
The Israeli source explained the confusion in the numbers by saying, “We don’t know.”
Israelis, however, blame the Biden administration in part for the high death toll and prolonged suffering of hostages.
Biden’s administration delayed Israel’s military action in Rafah for almost four months, which allowed hostages to be relocated or killed.
One senior source said that the Biden administration had engaged in “blackmail” and “every conceivable threat”, to prevent Netanyahu from giving the command to enter Rafah.
Biden warned at the time that the U.S. could impose an arms embargo against Israel if the IDF launched a full-scale attack on the city.
Israel launched an offensive in Rafah, destroying Hamas’s bases around the city and launching targeted attacks within it.
Negotiations between Israel, Hamas, and Qatar to release the remaining hostages are ongoing.
Netanyahu announced Friday that a delegation of IDF, Shin Be,t and Mossad representatives would be sent to Doha.
A Qatari newspaper reported that there is a high probability of success in the next round of negotiations. Moussa Abmarzook, who is a member senior to the Hamas Political Bureau and has ties with the U.S.-based pro-Hamas networks, said this.
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