A senior Israeli negotiator told AFP on Monday that dozens of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza are certainly alive and that Israel cannot accept halting the war until all captives are released in a deal. “Dozens are alive with certainty,” the official said on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak publicly on the issue. “We cannot leave them there a long time, they will die,” he said, adding that a vast majority of them were being held by Hamas in Gaza.
The hostages were taken during the terror group’s October 7 massacre, which saw some 3,000 terrorists burst across the border into Israel by land, air and sea, killing some 1,200 people and seizing 251 hostages, mostly civilians, many amid acts of brutality and sexual assault. Israel believes 116 remain in Gaza, including 41 who the Israel Defense Forces has confirmed dead. US President Joe Biden last month presented what he said was a three-phase Israeli proposal to end the war in Gaza, which includes a ceasefire and the release of hostages held by Hamas.
Biden said the first phase would include a “full and complete ceasefire” lasting six weeks, with Israeli forces withdrawing from “all populated areas of Gaza.” The official said Israel could not end the conflict with Hamas before a hostage deal is signed because the terror group could “breach its commitment..
. and drag out the negotiations for 10 years” or more. “We cannot, at this point in time — before signing the agreement — com.