US officials tell the Wall Street Journal that there are fears that most of the Israeli hostages in Hamas captivity could be dead.
The report comes amid talks to secure a hostage release deal and a truce, with some Hamas sources indicating that they are unable to provide 40 living hostages from the elderly, women and female soldiers that Israel is demanding.
It is believed that 129 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza. The IDF has confirmed the deaths of 34 of those still held by Hamas, citing intelligence and findings obtained by troops operating in Gaza.
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However, the WSJ report says that “Israeli and American officials estimate privately that the number of deaths could be much higher.”
Some US estimates indicate that most of the hostages are already dead, US officials familiar with the intelligence tell the paper.
They stress, however, that US information on the hostages is limited and depends, in part, on Israeli intelligence.
The report quotes US officials as saying that some were likely killed during Israeli strikes on Gaza, while others have died from health issues, including injuries suffered during their initial capture.
Hamas terrorists took 253 hostages during the October 7 assault in which they also killed some 1,200 people.
A hundred and five hostages were released from Hamas captivity during a weeklong truce in late November, and four hostages were released prior to that. Three hostages have been rescued by troops alive, and the bodies of 12 hostages have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the military.
One more person is listed as missing since October 7, and their fate is still unknown.
Hamas is also holding the bodies of fallen IDF soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin since 2014, as well as two Israeli civilians, Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, who are both thought to be alive after entering the Strip of their own accord in 2014 and 2015 respectively.
