US officials familiar with intelligence have said that most of the hostages are no longer alive.
By Vered Weiss, World Israel News
Although numbers in the 130s are often quoted when discussing hostages remaining in Gaza, suspicions are growing that Hamas may not even have 40 living hostages to release in the first stage of a potential deal, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Hamas has repeatedly refused to provide Israel with a list of surviving hostages still in Gaza.
In addition, The Wall Street Journal reports that Hamas said it could agree to release 40 hostages as part of a deal without stipulating that they were living hostages.
This ambiguity is complicated by reports that many of the hostages are kept by other terrorist groups not participating in negotiations and captives may be dispersed among the Gazan population in unknown locations
Hamas kidnapped approximately 240 Israelis hostage on October 7, and around 100 were released in November 2023.
Of those remaining, 34 have been confirmed dead, with later reports saying 50 may have been killed. This leaves 80 hostages who may still be alive.
The Wall Street Journal reports that US officials familiar with intelligence have said that most of the hostages are no longer alive.
The causes of death among deceased hostages might have been injuries they received while they were captured, violence, or illness, while some of them may have died while being captured and their bodies were brought back to Gaza.
It is believed that the hostages who are still alive are being used as human shields by Hamas.
Hamas has repeatedly demanded that it would only release hostages if Israel committed to a complete ceasefire.
The terror group insisted that it needed a ceasefire to locate all of the hostages, although even during the pause in fighting in November, Hamas failed to provide a list of 10 additional civilian women and children in Gaza.
There is some speculation among mediators that Hamas may know the whereabouts of living hostages, but they are reluctant to surrender information that would compromise their leverage in negotiations.
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