Only 24 hostages left alive in Gaza, Israel believes

There is proof of life of many of the two dozen men still in Hamas captivity, while Israel says 35 hostages are dead including a soldier killed in 2014.

Some of the 24 hostages presumed to be alive who are still held by Hamas: Top row, from left: Elkana Bohbot, Matan Angrest, Edan Alexander, Avinatan Or, Yosef-Haim Ohana. Second row, from left: Evyatar David, Guy Gilboa-Dalal, Bipin Joshi, Rom Braslavski, Ziv Berman. Third row, from left: Omri Miran, Eitan Mor, Segev Kalfon, Nimrod Cohen, Maxim Herkin. Picture: Hostages Families Forum.

Israel believes just 24 hostages – all men – remain alive in Gaza, along with 35 dead captives, one of them a soldier killed 10 years ago.

There are increasing fears for the remaining prisoners, as Donald Trump’s hostage envoy Steve Witkoff confirmed a date had been set for fighting to resume between Hamas and the Israeli military and warned of a joint US-Israeli operation if the hostages aren’t freed.

The Times of Israel reports that of the two dozen living captives, 22 are Israelis, one is Thai and one Nepali. All of them are young men who were kidnapped on October 7, 2023, when the terror group stormed southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and abducting 251.

The hostages include four active-duty soldiers and several people who had been working security at the Nova music festival, some of whom Hamas has claimed were soldiers as well.

Others were festival goers, while some of the men were taken from their homes in the kibbutzes near the southern border.

Under the ceasefire deal currently in place in Gaza, these 24 men would be released in a planned second stage of the deal.

However, the two sides haven’t entered talks, which would involve the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, with Jerusalem insisting all hostages are freed first.

After the first phase ended on March 1, Jerusalem endorsed a plan to extend this phase of the ceasefire until April 9 but Hamas rejected the proposal, which would have seen all 59 hostages released.

In the first 42 day phase, Hamas freed 33 women, children and men aged over 50 or were infirm.

The 35 hostages confirmed dead by Israel include 34 kidnapped in the Hamas massacre and a soldier killed in the 2014 Gaza war. Their bodies would be returned in the deal’s potential third phase.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly been angered after Washington opened direct talks with Hamas, which appear to have also stalled after it became clear Hamas “were going to be thinking about (peace negotiations) a certain way,” Mr Witkoff said.

Donald Trump has defended the unprecedented face-to-face talks, saying the hostages – including Israeli American Edan Alexander – were a priority.

“You have to negotiate. There’s a difference between negotiating and paying. We want to get these people out,” Mr Trump said at the White House.

Mr Alexander, 21, who was born in Tel Aviv but grew up in the US, is the only surviving Israeli-American still in captivity. Like many of the other hostage families, his family has received several signs of life from hostages who were freed in November 2023 and had met him, handcuffed in the tunnels.

He told them he was an American-Israeli soldier.