Israel Hayom: Report reveals Israel’s estimates of the number of its living hostages in Gaza
Israel Hayom (Israel Today) reported on Sunday that estimates in Israel indicate that 50 Israeli prisoners out of the 101 held in Gaza have been killed, meaning that only 51 prisoners are likely alive.
The Israeli newspaper said that Israel hasn’t officially announced their death yet because determining death requires conclusive scientific evidence that doesn’t currently exist.
Israel Hayom report comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last September, in a review before the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Security Committee, that half of the kidnapped were alive.
In this regard, the newspaper pointed out that the exact number that Netanyahu relied on is being published for the first time, and is also used as a database for various parties in Israel that deal with the issue of the kidnapped.
Israel Hayom stressed that this number was compiled based on information monitored through various channels since October 7, some of which is visual and some of which is intelligence and operational.
This means that Israel believes that 50 of the Israelis held in Gaza are not alive, while only 37 prisoners whose bodies are held by Hamas have been officially declared dead.
Informed officials said that the families of the detainees are aware of all the information and are aware of the individual assessments regarding the fate of their children.
The families whose children weren’t officially confirmed dead but were estimated not to be alive received clarification based on the assessments.
It was learned that some families accepted the assessments, but others rejected them and preferred to wait for the absolute evidence.
The newspaper said that there are pessimistic and more depressing estimates in this regard, as given the intense military pressure on Gaza and the poor conditions in which the kidnapped have been held for more than a year, it’s likely that the actual number of living kidnapped prisoners is less than that.
