Dozens of Hostages Dead in Gaza, Israeli Military Intelligence Reveals

Captured by Hamas

 Haley Strack; National Review  "Hamas captured more than 240 hostages in its October 7 attack, which killed 1,200 Israelis. An estimated 136 captives reportedly remain in Gaza and of those, the Israeli military has declared at least 31 of them dead, according to intelligence leaked to the New York Times.

"An additional 20 hostages also may have been killed in captivity.

"The Israeli military is “deploying all available resources to locate and retrieve as much information as possible regarding the hostages currently held by Hamas,” a spokesman told the Times. Israeli Defense Forces notified the families of the hostages this week.

"U.S. secretary of state Antony Blinken arrived in Cairo on Tuesday to negotiate the possibility of a cease-fire deal with Egyptian officials that could prompt the release of the rest of the hostages.

"Although “efforts to free the hostages are continuing at all times,” Israel will not “agree to every deal, and not at any price,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said. Hamas demands the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza in exchange for the freed hostages and has pressed Israel to release thousands of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the Israeli civilians. Netanyahu has stressed repeatedly that Israel’s goal is to wipe out Hamas.

" 'We will not end the war before we complete all of its goals: the elimination of Hamas, the return of all our hostages, and ensuring that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel,” Netanyahu said this week.

“ 'There are those who say ‘yes’ to everything in places where you must say ‘no.’ They receive applause from the international community but endanger our national security,” Netanyahu said. “And there are those who say ‘no’ to everything, receive applause at home, but they also endanger vital interests.”

HALEY STRACK is a William F. Buckley Fellow in Political Journalism and a recent graduate of Hillsdale College.