Israel reports most of the hostages captured by Hamas are alive
The Israeli army said Thursday that most of the more than 200 hostages captured during an attack by the Islamist group Hamas in Israel and taken to Gaza are alive.
A military spokesman today gave an update on the army's estimates of the situation of at least 203 hostages and said that, while "there were bodies that were taken" to Gaza, "most of the hostages are alive".
The data released also detailed that more than 20 of the people kidnapped in the Strip are under 18 years of age and that there are also between 10 and 20 people over 60 years of age.
"As of today (Friday), there are between 100 and 200 Israelis considered missing persons. By comparison, on the first day of the war there were 3,000 people considered missing. This number has decreased dramatically as the IDF has confirmed their whereabouts," added a military statement, which emphasised "the extreme complexity involved in locating information on missing persons".
30 of our children are currently being held in the Gaza Strip by Hamas terrorists.
— Israel ישראל 🇮🇱 (@Israel) October 20, 2023
They are alone and afraid.
We will continue to make sure that their voices are heard by millions around the world. pic.twitter.com/BtO60xj7QW
The army said that among the people considered missing are several whose bodies have been transferred to the military base in charge of identifying the corpses.
In addition, an unknown number of bodies have not yet been recovered.
"At this time, the IDF is still conducting operations to find and locate bodies" on the Gazan side of the fence.
The attack by the Palestinian Islamist group, which killed 1,400 people in Israel, sparked a war that is now in its 14th day and has left more than 4,100 dead in the Gaza Strip.
