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Only Half of 101 Israeli Hostages Held in Gaza Strip Still Alive - Reports

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - About half of 101 Israelis who have been held hostage by Palestinian movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip for over a year now are still alive, Israeli daily reported on Sunday, citing intelligence assessments and open source data.
Sputnik
The Israeli authorities estimate that 101 hostages remain in Hamas captivity, while 154 others, including the bodies of the deceased, have been returned.
Hamas is estimated to be still holding 51 living hostages. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was cited as saying at a parliamentary commission meeting on foreign affairs and security in September that only half of the hostages were believed to be alive. Only 37 hostages were officially declared dead, and their bodies are still being held in the Gaza Strip.
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The information comes from open data sources and intelligence assessments, but it does not allow the Israeli government to make official statements on the matter, the daily reported.
In late October, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Sisi proposed a two-day ceasefire to ensure the release of four Israeli hostages in exchange for several Palestinians held in Israeli custody.
The Doha-hosted talks on a hostages-for-ceasefire deal have been deadlocked for months. After the Israeli military killed Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar in October many in Israel saw this as a window of opportunity to negotiate a deal that would bring the remaining hostages back from Gaza.
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