Israel confirms the death of 15 of the 137 hostages that Hamas continues to hold in Gaza
The Israeli government confirmed this Monday the death of 15 of the 137 hostages still held captive by the Islamist group Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Office released a statement publishing the names of “15 civilians and soldiers who were killed and remain kidnapped in Gaza.”
Among them are Shaked Dahan, Tomer Achims, Kirill Borovsky, Assaf Hammi, Mia Goren, Ofra Kidar, Aryeh Zalmanovitz, Eliyahu Margalit, Ronen Engel, Aviv Azili, Ravid Aryeh Katz, Shani Luke, Oren Goldin, Yonatan Samarno and Guy Iloz.
Thus, there are still 122 hostages alive in Gaza of the more than 240 that Hamas kidnapped during its attack on October 7, according to figures from the Israeli government, which confirmed the death of the 15 hostages based on intelligence information and evidence collected. by the troops deployed in the Strip.
Among the hostages considered alive are two children, brothers Ariel and Kfir Bibas, aged 4 years and 10 months respectively, who were kidnapped along with their mother Shiri Silverman Bibas – of Argentine origin – and their father Yarden Bibas.
Israel accused Hamas of breaking the agreements of a truce that lasted from November 24 to 30 by refusing to release Mrs. Bibas and her two children, but the Islamist group alleges that those three people were killed by Israeli bombings, which offered to hand over their bodies and that Israel rejected them.
On Saturday, thousands of people, including some of the hostages who were recently freed, demonstrated in Tel Aviv to demand the government rescue the rest, but Netanyahu has insisted that the priority now is to increase the military offensive in the Strip.
A total of 105 hostages – 81 Israelis and 24 foreigners (23 Thais and one Filipino) – were freed during the seven-day truce, which included the release of 240 Palestinians imprisoned in Israeli jails. They are joined by four other hostages who were previously released: an Israeli-American mother and daughter and two elderly Israeli women. On the other hand, Israel has recovered the bodies of three hostages who perished in Gaza: a man, a soldier and an elderly woman.
Thus, there are 122 live hostages and fifteen dead in Gaza; a total of 110 were released alive and three were rescued after they died.
The Hamas attack that sparked the war on October 7 left more than 1,200 dead in Israel. Since then, the military offensive in Gaza has left more than 15,500 dead, 41,316 injured, more than 7,000 missing and 1.8 million displaced, 80% of the total population.