US Intelligence Believes Only 20 Israeli Hostages Still Alive In Gaza
A new report has cited multiple American intelligence and security sources to say that the United States believes that only 20 Israeli hostages taken by Hamas on Oct.7, 2023 remain alive.
This is of the total of 251 which were taken alive during the terror attack. After the initial prisoner swap, Israel has said that about 100 remain in Gaza since, but its military has also said at least a third of those are likely already deceased.
There have been recent efforts to revive ceasefire talks in Doha, including Israel authorizing a delegation to resume talks, but no significant breakthroughs have been reported.
According to the new report on the hostages in Newsmax:
One U.S. government source said that 20 is the "working number" of those believed to be alive in ongoing negotiations underway in Qatar between Israel and Hamas.
The figure of 20 is approximate and includes only civilians and female Israeli soldiers taken prisoner.
"If the number included Israeli male soldiers, it could go higher," one senior Israeli source told Newsmax, but suggested it would not be a large increase.
The Israeli government has not offered any new or updated information on the status of the hostages of late. Large anti-Netanyahu protests have persisted in Israel, led by hostage victims' family members who believe the prime minister has prioritized war over the safety of the hostages.
Amid reports that on the Gaza side over 45,000 Palestinians are dead following well over a year of fighting in the Gaza Strip, Israel is warning that it is preparing to escalate its offensive against Hamas even more.
Defense Minister Israel Katz issued an ultimatum last week, telling Hamas to immediately release the remaining hostages or else Israel deal it "blows with a force not seen in Gaza for a long time."
This week at a Mar-a-Lago press conference, President-elect Donald Trump vowed that "all hell will break out in the Middle East" if the hostages are not released by Jan. 20, when he enters office.
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🚨🚨Blinken: We are very close to a Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal
— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) January 8, 2025
"And it will not be good for Hamas and it will not be good, frankly, for anyone," Trump pledged. "We want to get back those hostages for Israel and for us."
Yet it seems there are few or no viable options left - Gaza is already in ruins, Hamas leadership has been largely decimated, but still thousands of Hamas insurgents can make use of the tunnels to keep waging a slow-burning guerilla war.