Hamas is unsure about the number of Israeli hostages still alive

Osama Hamdan, a Hamas spokesman and political bureau member, claimed the group doesn’t know how many of the roughly 120 Israeli hostages still held in Gaza are still alive.

“I don’t have any idea about that. No one has an idea about this,” he told CNN. Hamdan also repeated the unproven Hamas claim that Israel’s rescue operation that saved four hostages resulted in the deaths of three others who were kidnapped on Oct. 7.

Hamas took roughly 250 people hostage during the Oct. 7 terror attack, and about half of them were released during a week-long ceasefire in late November. While Israeli forces have rescued a handful of hostages since then, Hamas has not released any of them. It’s unclear how many are still alive.

Hamas responded to the most recent ceasefire proposal with a list of additional requirements, some more tenable than others, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said earlier this week.

“Based on what we saw last night, the response from Hamas, numerous changes were proposed to the deal that was on the table and that the entire world has gotten behind. But some of those are workable things, some, as I said, are not,” the secretary said in Doha, Qatar on Wednesday. “I don’t want to characterize it further.”

The United States, Egyptian, and Qatari governments have acted as mediators between Israel and Hamas, and officials are expected to communicate in the coming days about ways to potentially salvage the deal.

Had Hamas agreed to the proposal, which Israel had already done, the first of three phases would’ve commenced. The first phase, which will last about six weeks but could be extended, would include the cessation of fighting, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from populated areas, the release of Israeli women and children hostages, and the release of many more Palestinians held in Israeli detention.

Hamas wants any ceasefire deal to include a provision permanently ending the war, whereas Israel wants to maintain its ability to resume its military objectives against Hamas.

Hamdan, who has been part of the Hamas negotiations team, told CNN that they needed “a clear position from Israel to accept the ceasefire, a complete withdrawal from Gaza, and let the Palestinians determine their future by themselves, the reconstruction, the (lifting) of the siege … and we are ready to talk about a fair deal about the prisoners exchange.”

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In the second phase of the proposed deal that Hamas didn’t accept, Israeli forces would withdraw from the entire strip while all living Israeli hostages would be released. Many of the details regarding the second phase would be negotiated during phase one of the deal, and the first phase could be extended if negotiations are ongoing but the six-week time frame expires.

The U.S., Egypt, and Qatar have desperately sought to get Israel and Hamas to agree to a second ceasefire deal for several months. Despite getting close at times, they have not been able to get any deal over the finish line since the first one.