Only 21 hostages still alive, three more dead: Donald Trump

Donald Trump has confirmed three more hostages held by Hamas in Gaza have died, bringing the number still alive to 21.

Israelis take part in a protest demanding the end of the war and immediate release of hostages in Tel Aviv. Picture; AP

Donald Trump has confirmed three more hostages held by Hamas in Gaza have died, bringing the number still alive to 21.

Speaking at the White House, Mr Trump said 24 hostages were alive when he received a recent visit by former Israeli captives but added: “As of today it’s 21, three have died.” “Twenty-one, plus a lot of dead bodies,” the president said at a swearing-in ceremony for his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.

He did not provide any further details.

“We want to try and get as many hostages saved as possible,” Mr Trump said. “This is a terrible situation.”

The president added that he doesn’t plan to stop in Israel during next week’s trip to the Middle East.

“We’re not planning on stopping in Israel. We will be doing it at some point, but not [on] this trip,” he said.

Gaza’s civil defence agency said Wednesday that Israeli strikes on a school sheltering displaced people in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory killed 31 people and wounded dozens, with Israel saying it had targeted Hamas militants.

Gaza civil defence media officer Ahmad Radwan said a total of 31 people were killed and dozens more wounded in Israeli strikes “on a school sheltering displaced persons” in the Bureij refugee camp in the centre of the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli military meanwhile said in a statement that its forces had struck a “Hamas command and control centre in the central Gaza Strip” which was used “to store weapons”.

The IDF, in its most recent update, said out of the 251 people abducted by militants in October 2023, 58 are still held in Gaza including 34 believed to be dead.

Israel’s military resumed its offensive on the Gaza Strip on March 18, ending a two-month truce that saw a surge in aid into the war-ravaged territory and the release of hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said at least 2,507 people had been killed since Israel resumed its campaign in mid-March, bringing the overall death toll from the war to 52,615.

AFP