One fifth of hostages held by Hamas are dead, says Israel

AT LEAST one fifth of the remaining hostages in Hamas captivity are dead, Israel has said.

Israel said it had intelligence showing at least 31 of 136 hostages held in Gaza have died since the start of the war.

The families of the hostages presumed to have been killed have already been notified.

Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, Israel’s chief military spokesman, told a news briefing: “We have informed 31 families that their captured loved ones are no longer among the living and that we have pronounced them dead.” He did not reveal the cause of their deaths.

Within the weeks of Hamas’s attack on the country’s south, Israel set up an ad-hoc task force bringing together the military, forensic experts and doctors who sifted evidence uncovered by Israeli troops in Gaza to verify reports of some of the hostages being killed. Four Israeli officials quoted by the

said Israel was also looking into unconfirmed intelligence indicating that 20 more hostages may also be dead.

More than 240 Israeli hostages were taken into Gaza by Hamas and other militant groups. More than 100 were released in a hostage deal last year in exchange for the release of Palestinian female and child prisoners.

Hamas has released proof of life for just a handful of hostages.

Benjamin Netanyahu is under increasing pressure to broker a deal to return the remaining Israeli captives.

Protests pushing for the release of the hostages have intensified in recent weeks while Israel is still in mediated negotiations with Hamas.

Gadi Eisenkot, a member of Mr Netanyahu’s war cabinet whose son died fighting in Gaza last year, hinted that the Israeli public would need to brace for an uncomfortable compromise with Hamas if they wanted to see the hostages released through a deal.

“There will be a hefty price that we must courageously accept for bringing back those we left to be captured on Oct 7 while we carry on with the military goals of destroying Hamas,” he said.