It appears that Israel has intelligence which strongly suggests the majority of 59 hostages remaining in Gaza are dead. It has long been acknowledged that at least some of the captives are deceased, but the Israeli government has kept a tight lid on information it has on the numbers.
And Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s wife Sara has unleashed new controversy, heightening tensions and outrage from victims’ families. She was heard on a hot mic at an event on Monday saying that “fewer” than 24 hostages are still alive in Gaza.
It’s unclear whether she intended to be heard by the audience at a moment her husband, PM Benjamin Netanyahu was speaking, but she muttered something key and it was picked up by the microphone.
Below is CNN’s account of what happened and what was said:
“We have of course an important task, not only to win but also to bring home (the hostages),” Netanyahu said at a meeting with Israeli holiday torchbearers on Monday. “Until today we have returned 196 of our hostages, 147 of whom were alive. There are… up to 24 living. Up to 24 living.”
“Fewer,” Sara Netanyahu interrupted quietly, seated to her husband’s right.
“I say up to,” Netanyahu quickly responded. “And the rest are, I’m sorry to say, not alive. And we will return them.”
Lately Israeli officials have issued alarm, saying they believe more hostages may be in danger of dying as the conflict drags on. Ceasefire negotiations with Hamas have been collapsed and nonexistent for months at this point.
Victims’ families and anti-Netanyahu protesters have demanded the resumption of the truce deal, in order to see the remaining captives released. The Netanyahu government has instead opted for a military solution.
“On the eve of Memorial Day, you sowed indescribable panic in the hearts of the families of the hostages – families already living in agonizing uncertainty,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a statement, blasting Israeli leadership.
“If there is intelligence or new information regarding the condition of our loved ones, we demand full disclosure,” the group said, and urged that if the prime minister’s wife has new information she should make it known immediately.
“If the wife of the prime minister has new information about the kidnapped who were killed, I demand from her to know if my Matan is still alive, or if he was murdered in captivity because your husband refuses to finish the war,” Einav Zangauker, the mother of one of the hostages, also said on social media, as quoted in CNN.
Israel’s military has vowed to eradicate Hamas, but that’s easier said than done given the vast tunnel network of the terror group remains in place. It’s also believed there are still tens of thousands of Hamas fighters.
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