Israel says eight of the remaining 26 hostages supposed to be freed by Hamas during the first phase of the Gaza truce arrangement are dead.
Government spokesperson David Mencer told reporters that Israel had received a list from the Palestinian armed organisation overnight that provided information on the situation of the hostages.
“The list from Hamas matches Israel’s intelligence, so I can share with you that… eight have been killed by Hamas,” he said, without naming them. “The families have been informed of the situation of their relatives.”
Seven women have already been freed alive in return for more than 290 Palestinian inmates imprisoned in Israeli jails since the truce began on 19 January.
On Sunday night, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office reported that Hamas has agreed to release female citizen Arbel Yehud, female soldier Agam Berger, and one other hostage on Thursday.
The group planned to release three more hostages on Saturday, he claimed.
The Israeli military initiated a campaign to eradicate Hamas in reaction to an extraordinary cross-border raid on October 7, 2023, that killed around 1,200 people and kidnapped 251 more.
More than 47,310 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
Israel says 87 of the hostages remain in captivity, 34 of whom are assumed dead. In addition, there are three Israelis who were seized before the war, one of whom is deceased.
Or Levy, 34, was at the Nova music festival with his wife Eynav on October 7, 2023, and is one of the hostages Israel says should be released in the first phase.
Following an attack by Hamas gunmen, the couple ran to a roadside bomb shelter with their three-year-old son Almog. Eynav was killed within the shelter, and Or was kidnapped and returned to Gaza.
Over the weekend in Tel Aviv’s Hostage Square, Or’s brother Michael told the BBC that waiting to learn about the condition of the remaining 26 hostages was like being immersed into “a reality the devil himself invented and part of an evil reality show that Hamas is enjoying.”.
He also stated he had received no indication about when Or would be freed and there would be what he described as “an end date to this nightmare.”. Michael also said he feared that Hamas could potentially delay his brother’s release.
“We cannot just be calm and hope for the best. We have to keep going. And until he’s here, I won’t believe it actually happened.”
Following the release of four female Israeli soldiers in the second ceasefire exchange, the Israeli military’s spokesman expressed concern for the welfare of three hostages: Shiri Bibas, 33, and her two young sons, Kfir, two, and Ariel, five.
Hamas claimed their deaths in November 2023, but the Israeli military has not confirmed their deaths, and the Israeli government has insisted they are alive.
The third and final stage will involve the restoration of Gaza, which could take years, and the repatriation of any remaining captives’ bodies.
The Captives and Missing Families Forum is demanding that the Israeli government implement all three phases and assure the return of every hostage.
“We are not whole without them all. Our nation needs everyone at home, together. Until the last hostage,” it said.
Meanwhile, the deputy chief of the Israeli military’s medical corps revealed that some of the seven newly released hostages spent “the entire time in tunnels underground” in recent months
“Some of them were alone through the entire time they were there,” Col. Dr. Avi Banov said, according to Reuters news agency. “Those who said they were together were in better shape.”
The captives had reported their treatment improved in the days leading up to their release, when they were allowed to shower, change their clothes, and received better meals, he continued.
