Israeli leadership believes only about half of the 97 Israeli hostages held by the radical Palestinian movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip are alive. As the newspaper The Times of Israel reported, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made this assessment at a closed session in parliament.
„According to the information we have, half of the remaining 97 hostages in Gaza are alive,” one of the members of the committee on foreign affairs and defense quoted the head of government to the publication.
To date, the Israel Defense Forces have confirmed the deaths of only 33 hostages, The Times of Israel points out.