An Israeli spokesperson confirmed on Monday that a list of 26 hostages still to be freed during the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire indicates that eight are dead.
David Mencer, spokesman for the National Public Diplomacy Directorate in the Office of the Prime Minister confirmed a Reuters report quoting a Hamas official that eight of the captives on the list were marked dead.
Hamas has not offered proof, but Israeli authorities began notifying the families of the development.
The first phase of the ceasefire is supposed to see a total of 33 Israeli hostages freed over six weeks in exchange for hundreds of Arab terrorists imprisoned in Israel. The exact number will depend on how many are alive. So far, seven Israelis have been released.
Hamas released four soldiers — Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa and Naama Levi instead of Yehud on Saturday, prompting Israel to delay the return of Gazans to northern Gaza. Gazans began returning to northern Gaza on Monday morning.
On Thursday, Hamas is to release civilian Arbel Yehud, the Israeli hostage whose fate held up the return of Gazans to northern Gaza, along with female soldier Agam Berger and a third hostage. It is widely believed that the third hostage will be Keith Siegel, a US-Israeli citizen.
Another three hostages are to be released on Saturday. It is not known if Israel will receive live captives or bodies.
The fate of the remaining 65 hostages will be determined by negotiations to begin on the 16th day of the ceasefire. Critics say the phased approach condemns hostages not freed in the beginning to open-ended captivity and undermines Israel’s war gains.
At least 1,200 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the 90 remaining hostages, more than 30 have been declared dead.
