The Israeli military, on Monday, claimed Hamas and other Palestinian militants are holding 199 hostages in Gaza-- at least 44 higher than previous estimates. Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, a military spokesman, said that the families have been notified. He did not specify whether that number includes foreigners, or say who is holding them. Most are believed to be held by the Hamas militant group, which rules Gaza.
“We are making valiant efforts to try to understand where the hostages are in Gaza, and we have such information,” Hagari says in response to a question at a press conference, further vowing to not carry out any attack that endangers their lives, reported The Times of Israel.
Meanwhile, fears over devastating humanitarian consequences as well as the lives of hostages captured by militants continue to grow amid a looming Israeli ground offensive in Gaza. Hundreds and thousands of Palestinians already taking shelter in schools and hospitals running low on food and water.
The Gaza Health Ministry said 2,750 Palestinians have been killed and 9,700 wounded since the fighting erupted, while over 1,400 Israelis have been killed in Hamas strikes that struck the Jewish state on October 7.
Israeli airstrikes have pulverized entire neighborhoods as Palestinian militants continue to fire rockets into Israel. The Israeli military also directed 1.1 million Palestinians to evacuate to the south to escape a campaign against Hamas militants in Gaza.
Egypt's state-run media said el-Sissi told Blinken that Israel's Gaza operation has exceeded “the right of self-defence” and turned into “a collective punishment”. Blinken told reporters before leaving Egypt that “Israel has the right, indeed it has the obligation to defend itself against these attacks from Hamas and to try to do what it can to make sure that this never happens again”.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military ordered residents to evacuate 28 communities near the Lebanese border after increasing cross-border fire between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. "Israel is ready to operate on two fronts, and even more. If Hezbollah makes the mistake of testing us, the response will be deadly," said Hagari.
Hezbollah militants fired rockets and an anti-tank missile on Sunday, and Israel responded with airstrikes and shelling. The fighting killed one person on the Israeli side and wounded several on both sides of the border.
(with AP inputs)
