Half of Israeli hostages in Gaza ‘are alive,’ says Netanyahu

By Said Amori

JERUSALEM (AA) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that about half of the hostages held in Gaza “are alive.”

This comes as Netanyahu and his government face accusations from hostages’ families of abandoning them through a new proposal for a hostage swap with Hamas.

“According to the information we have, half of the hostages in Gaza are alive,” Netanyahu said during a closed meeting of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee as cited by Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper.

On Thursday, families of the hostages have criticized a proposal for a "safe exit" put forward by Gal Hirsch, Israel's coordinator for prisoners and missing persons, to the US government aimed at negotiating a hostage exchange with Hamas.

According to Israeli public broadcaster KAN, the proposal includes simultaneous release of all hostages and a "safe exit" for Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar from Gaza.

Indirect negotiations between Israel, facilitated by Egypt, Qatar and the US, have deadlocked over Netanyahu's insistence on continuing the Gaza war and maintaining control over key territories, while Hamas demands a full Israeli military withdrawal and the return of displaced people without restrictions.

Currently, Israel holds approximately 9,500 Palestinian prisoners, while Hamas says that 101 Israeli hostages are in Gaza, with reports of many killed in indiscriminate Israeli airstrikes.

Israel has continued a brutal offensive on Gaza following a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7 last year, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.

More than 41,400 people, mostly women and children, have since been killed and more than 95,800 injured, according to local health authorities.

The Israeli onslaught has displaced almost the entire population of the territory amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel faces accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala​​​​​​​