The Hamas official also said the Israeli operation to free four of the hostages on Saturday resulted in the deaths of three other hostages, including an American citizen, although Hamdan did not provide any evidence, the report said.
"I don't have any idea about that. No one has any idea about this," Hamdan said in an interview with CNN on Thursday when asked how many of the 120 hostages are still alive.
Israel believes that more than 70 hostages held in the Gaza Strip are still alive, CNN reported.
The Israel Defense Forces said on Saturday that it had rescued four hostages, including a Russian national, who were kidnapped from the Nova music festival on October 7 and held in Gaza by the Hamas movement since then.
On October 7, 2023, Hamas launched a large-scale rocket attack against Israel and breached the border, attacking both civilian neighborhoods and military bases. Nearly 1,200 people in Israel were killed and some 240 others abducted during the attack. Israel launched retaliatory strikes, ordered a complete blockade of Gaza, and started a ground incursion into the Palestinian enclave with the declared goal of eliminating Hamas fighters and rescuing the hostages. Over 37,100 people have been killed so far by Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip, according to local authorities. A total of 120 hostages are still believed to be held by Hamas in Gaza, and about a third of them are believed to be dead.