Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer told President-elect Donald Trump last month that 60 of the 101 hostages being held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip are believed to be alive, Israel Hayom reported on Saturday.
The revised estimate is higher than the 51 Israeli intelligence suggested were alive in early November. Officially, 76 out of the 101 are classified as alive. Ninety-seven of the captives were kidnapped from southern Israel during the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023.
Dermer reportedly conveyed messages to Trump from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during their Nov. 10 meeting at his Mar-a-Lago estate, and also discussed Israel’s plans in Lebanon and Gaza, Iran and Israeli-Saudi normalization.
Ruby Chen, the father of abducted soldier Staff Sgt. Itai Chen, who was declared deceased, responded to the Israel Hayom report: “I sincerely hope no one is differentiating between living hostages and those declared fallen. Everyone must be brought home, and this is a sacred duty according to Judaism.”
Jerusalem believes that the end of hostilities with Hezbollah in Lebanon and Trump taking office on Jan. 20 create more favorable conditions for a ceasefire agreement with Hamas in Gaza that would see the hostages released, according to Israel Hayom.
A proof-of-life video of American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander, 20, that Hamas released on Saturday is “cruel psychological warfare,” Netanyahu stated on Saturday night.
The premier told Alexander’s family on Saturday evening that “he feels the suffering that Edan and the hostages and their families are enduring,” and “promised that Israel is determined to take every action to bring them back home, together with all of the hostages held by the enemy,” his office stated.
