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Israel says eight of the 26 remaining hostages, instead of being released by Hamas, are dead in the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire.
David Mencer, a government spokesman, told reporters that Israel had provided him with information about the Nightly Situation.
“Hamas’ list is consistent with Israeli intelligence, so I can share it with you … eight have been killed by Hamas,” he said, without naming them. “Families have reported the condition of their relatives.”
Seven women have already been released alive in exchange for more than 290 Palestinian prisoners who were held in the Israeli ceasefire on January 19.
On Sunday night, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced that Hamas had agreed to release the female Arbel Yehud, the female soldier Agam Berger and another on Thursday.
The team hosted three on Saturday, he said.
The Israeli military launched a campaign of destruction in response to an unprecedented cross-border attack on October 7, 2023, in which 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage.
More than 47,310 people in Gaza have since died, according to the territory’s Hamas-run Health Ministry.
Israel has said that 87 hostages remain, of which 34 are dead. There are also three Israelis who were kidnapped before the war, one of whom is dead.
One of the hosts that Israel should evict in the first phase, 34, attended the Musika Nova Festival with his wife Eynav on October 7, 2023.
The couple, three years old and three years old, fled to a roadside shelter after being attacked by Hamas gunmen. Eynav either died inside the shelter or was kidnapped and taken to Gaza.
At the weekend in Tel Aviv’s hospitality square, or waiting to hear about the conditions of the remaining 26 hosts, brother Michael told the BBC, “a reality that the devil himself invented and a part of an evil reality that Hamas enjoys.”
He also said he had not received any statement on whether he would be released and what he described as “the end date of this nightmare”.
Mikel also said he feared that Hamas had delayed his brother’s announcement.
“We can’t sit back and hope for the best. We have to keep going. And until we’re here, I don’t believe it’s really happened.”
On Saturday, after the release of four Israeli soldiers from the second round of the ceasefire, an Israeli military spokesman said he was “deeply concerned” about the welfare of the three war veterans – Shiri Bibas, 33, and her two young sons, Kfir, two, and Ariel, five.
Hamas claimed he was killed in an Israeli airstrike in November 2023. However, the Israeli military has not confirmed the dead and the Israeli government has insisted that they are among the 33 hosts captured in the first phase.
Negotiations for the second phase – in exchange for the exchange of prisoners, the complete withdrawal of Israelis, the remaining hostages and the “restoration of lasting calm” – will begin on February 4.
The third and final phase will involve the reconstruction of Gaza, which could take years, and the return of the remaining bodies.
The Shelters and Missing Families Forum demand that the Israeli government implement all three phases and ensure the return of each shelter.
“We are not all without all. Our nation needs home at home, together. Until the last resort,” he said.
Meanwhile, Israel’s Military Medical Corps reported that seven new war veterans had “spent their entire time underground in the tunnels” in recent months.
“Some of them were alone the whole time they were there,” said Col Dr Avi Banov, according to Reuters News Agency. “Those who said they were together were in better shape.”
Hosts said their treatment improved on the days of their release, when they showered, changed clothes and received better food, he added.
