According to the latest Israeli assessments, 51 Israeli hostages are still alive in the Gaza Strip, the daily Israel Hayom reported on Sunday. These figures contrast sharply with the total number of people still held by Hamas, suggesting that a significant portion of the captives may not have survived.
Israeli authorities have officially confirmed the death of 37 hostages, whose remains are still in the hands of Hamas. However, intelligence services estimate that at least 13 other captives may also have died, although their deaths have not yet been formally announced.
About two months ago, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that half of the hostages were alive. This assessment was based on information collected through different channels since October 7, combining open sources and data from intelligence services.
The discrepancy between confirmed and estimated deaths is explained by the strict requirements required to officially declare a person’s death in Israel. Medical and rabbinical authorities require irrefutable evidence, consistent with scientific and religious standards, before they can pronounce death. Although this formal proof is lacking for certain cases, the Israeli services would have sufficient information to establish that several other hostages did not survive their captivity.
This new assessment comes as negotiations for the release of the hostages continue, under the mediation of Qatar and Egypt, in a context of intensification of Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip.
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