Hamas said that more than 60 hostages were missing as a result of Israeli airstrikes on Gaza. Late last month, the Palestinian faction’s armed wing said around 50 prisoners held by the group were kill in Israeli attacks on Gaza.
Abu Ubaida, a spokesman for the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, said via a Hamas telegram account that 23 bodies of the 60 missing Israeli hostages were trapped under rubble.
“It looks like we will never be able to reach them because of the occupation’s continued brutal aggression against Gaza,” he said.
There has been no verification from other parties regarding Hamas’s statement.

The Israeli army declined to comment.

The United States has flown surveillance planes over Gaza to search for hostages taken by Hamas when the Palestinian militant group attacked Israel on October 7, two US officials said on Thursday.
Hamas, the arm Islamist group that controls Gaza, has so far release four civilians out of 239 people believe to be detaine.
The hostage issue has also become a bargaining chip between Israel and Hamas. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday urge Israel to temporarily halt its military offensive on Gaza to allow aid into the Palestinian enclave, but face resistance from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who reject the halt unless hostages held by Hamas were release.
Blinken is in the Middle East for the second time in less than a month to try to balance Washington’s support for Israel over a deadly Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023 with concerns over soaring civilian casualties from Israeli bombing.

Although the United States maintains strong support for Israel

its rhetoric has increasingly shifted toward increasing humanitarian aid to Gaza, taking steps to avoid civilian deaths and creating a pause in fighting to facilitate efforts to free more than 240 hostages held by Hamas in Israel. .
Speaking at a news conference, Blinken called for a humanitarian pause, saying it would allow aid to enter Gaza, facilitating efforts to secure the release of hostages while allowing Israel to achieve its goal of defeating Hamas.

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