Israel says more than a third of Gaza hostages are dead
Some recovered hostage bodies showed signs of execution.
Israel believes that more than a third of the remaining Gaza hostages are dead, a government tally showed on Tuesday, as the United States sought to advance their recovery under a proposal to wind down the war with Hamas.
Of about 250 people dragged into the Gaza Strip by Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists during the Oct. 7 cross-border massacres that sparked the war, scores were freed in a November truce, while others have been recovered - dead or alive - by Israeli troops.
The government tally said 120 remain in captivity, 43 of whom have been declared dead in absentia based on various sources of information, including intelligence tip-offs, CCTV or bystander videos and forensic analysis.
Some officials have privately said that the number of dead could be higher
Hamas, which threatened at the outset of the war to execute hostages in reprisal for Israeli air strikes, has since alleged such attacks caused hostage deaths. Israel has not ruled that out in all cases, but said that some recovered hostage bodies showed signs of execution.
Over the course of the war in Gaza, Hamas has published videos of Israeli hostages held in captivity and under duress, including a video featuring what is believed to be the voice of hostage Noa Argamani last week.
On Monday, four more hostages were added to Israel's list of fatalities. The four are Haim Perry and Yoram Metzger, age 80, and Amiram Cooper, age 84, all from Nir Oz, and Nadav Popplewell, age 51, from Nirim.
The announcement was based on intelligence and confirmed by a Health Ministry expert, in coordination with the Religious Services Ministry and the Chief Rabbi of Israel.
According to the IDF, they were not killed on October 7, but rather afterward while being held in Gaza.
US President Joe Biden on Friday went public with an Israeli proposal to wind down the war, under which some hostages would go free during a preliminary ceasefire.
But mediated efforts to clinch that deal have been bogged down as Israel insists on eventually resuming the campaign to destroy Hamas while the Palestinian terrorist group demands a guaranteed end to the war and withdrawal of all invasion forces.
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