According to a Wall Street Journal report, as few as fifty Israeli hostages are still being held by Hamas, U.S. officials believe. Assessments from Israeli intelligence indicate that 66 of the remaining hostages are dead.
Hamas claims it does not know how many hostages are alive or dead.
“I think we should be extremely worried,” Hagai Levine, the head of the medical team for the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, told the outlet. “It seems like every week more hostages are dying or getting in danger or very sick.”
From The New York Post:
Israel uses an expert committee of medical experts that reviews classified intelligence in order to determine the hostages’ status, the Journal reported.
“We were able to determine the death of people that we know were alive and we know how their life ended over there,” said Ofer Merin, a member of the committee and director general at Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem.
“We sit very quietly. We look at each frame. We listen to what happened. And we gather all this information.”
The military has also tried to determine the fate of the hostages by tracing DNA found in Hamas’ underground tunnels in the Gaza Strip, Tamir Hayman, former head of Israeli military intelligence Tamir Hayman, said.
The estimated number of dead hostages is growing due to the conditions of their captivity combined with the injuries they suffered on Oct. 7, and possible pre-existing health conditions, the Journal reported.
As few as 50 hostages held by Hamas are still alive: new estimate https://t.co/T8zjki3QOG pic.twitter.com/xgW5XWfuo9
— New York Post (@nypost) June 20, 2024
