More than a third of Gaza hostages are dead

Israel has stated that more than a third of the remaining Gaza hostages are dead, even as the United States sought to advance a proposal to end the war with Hamas.

According to an Israeli Government tally released, Tuesday, June 4, Of about 250 people dragged into the Gaza Strip by Hamas-led Palestinian gunmen during the Oct. 7 cross-border rampage that sparked the war, scores were freed in a November truce, while others have been recovered – dead or alive – by Israeli troops.

The government tally said 120 remain in captivity, 43 of whom have been declared dead in absentia by Israeli officials based on various sources of information, including intelligence tip-offs, CCTV or bystander videos and forensic analysis.

Hamas, which threatened at the outset of the war to execute hostages in reprisal for Israeli air strikes, has since said such air attacks caused hostage deaths.

On Monday, four more hostages were added to Israel’s list of fatalities.

Last week Friday, U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday went public with an Israeli proposal to wind down the war, under which some hostages would go free during a preliminary ceasefire.