Topline
Hamas says it does not have an exact count on the number of Israeli hostages being held in Gaza or where each of them is, the New York Times reported, citing an official linked to the militant group.
Photographs of the missing are seen as a “Shabbat Dinner” table is prepared at the Tel Aviv museum … [+]
Key Facts
Osama Hamdan, a Hamas representative based in Lebanon, told the Times the group does not have “exact numbers” of hostages being held and suggested other Gaza-based outfits like the Palestinian Islamic Jihad are also holding some of them.
Claims about the number of hostages held in Gaza have fluctuated a bit over the past week, as Israel and international officials have demanded their immediate release.
On Monday, a spokesperson from Hamas’ military wing said 250 hostages were in Gaza—200 by the group themselves and 50 by other factions.
Previously, the militant group had claimed 13 hostages had died as a result of Israeli airstrikes.
Israeli Defense Force officials have said a total of 203 hostages have been taken to Gaza, a slight revision from an earlier count of 199.
It is unclear if Israel believes all the 203 hostages are still alive.
Tangent
On Monday, Hamas released a video of a 21-year-old French-Israeli woman, Mia Schem, who is being held hostage by them in Gaza. The video is the only footage of a hostage in Gaza that has been released by Hamas. In the video, Schem says she was carried to Gaza after being injured and wants to return to her family. The release of the video drew immediate condemnation from Israeli officials and other world leaders. French President Emmanuel Macron’s office said: “It is an ignominy to take innocent people hostage and put them on show in this odious way,” and demanded Schem’s immediate and unconditional release. White House National Security spokesperson John Kirby called the clip a “propaganda video” and said he believed that Schem “gave that video testimony under duress, probably forced to do it.” Schem’s mother has since publicly appealed to world leaders to secure her daughter’s release.
Key Background
On Monday, a Hamas official indicated the group plans to use the hostages to secure the release of Palestinians being held in Israeli jails. Later in the week, NBC News reported that Hamas was negotiating with U.S., Israeli and Qatari officials about the release of the hostages, and reportedly suggested its willingness to release women and children if Israel stopped its bombardment of the Gaza strip. However, neither side has publicly spoken about the existence of such a deal. In 2006, Israel was able to secure the release of a young soldier, Gilad Shalit, from Hamas after agreeing to release over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners. It is unclear if a deal of that magnitude would either be possible or acceptable to both sides at the moment.
Further Reading
A Hamas leader says not all of the Israeli hostages are being held by his group. (New York Times)
UN Body Warns Hospitals Have 24 Hours Of Fuel As Israeli Airstrikes Hit Southern Gaza (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2023/10/20/how-many-hostages-are-in-gaza-israel-says-203-but-hamas-claims-it-doesnt-know-exact-numbers/