Defense Minister Yoav Gallant stated in a confidential review before the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that “the number of hostages who are still alive within the humanitarian category is between 20 – 35, depending on the interpretation,” KAN news reported on Monday evening. The Jerusalem Post later verified this claim after speaking to two official Israel sources.
“On the question of who are considered women and the elderly, there is no dispute; however, on the question of who are considered injured and sick, there is,” continued Gallant. “We are working to maximize the number [of hostages].”
During hostage negotiations, Israel has demanded the release of 33 living hostages, KAN News reported.
Hostage deal negotiations
On Sunday, Hamas stated that it was unwilling to attend the hostage ceasefire negotiations summit on Thursday. However, mediators have said that they are still working to hold the summit.
KAN News reported, citing sources involved in the negotiations, that this was a tactic to get Israel to back down from the additions it made to the outline.
Israel is concerned that the summit will need to be postponed or canceled due to an expected Iranian attack.
Tovah Lazaroff contributed to this report.
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