Three more Israeli hostages held by Hamas have died: Trump

Washington: US President Donald Trump said that three more Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza have died, bringing the number still alive to 21.

Trump said that 24 hostages were alive when he received a recent visit by former Israeli hostages but “as of today it’s 21, three have died.”

“Twenty-one, plus a lot of dead bodies,” the president said at a White House swearing-in ceremony for his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.

He did not provide any further details.

“We want to try and get as many hostages saved as possible,” Trump said. “This is a terrible situation.”

The Israeli military, in its most recent update, said out of the 251 people abducted by militants in October 2023, 58 are still held in Gaza including 34 believed to be dead.

Israel’s military resumed its offensive on the Gaza Strip on March 18, ending a two-month truce that saw a surge in aid into the war-ravaged territory and the release of hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said at least 2,507 people had been killed since Israel resumed its campaign in mid-March, bringing the overall death toll from the war to 52,615.

Earlier, Hamas said it wanted a comprehensive deal to end the war in Gaza and swap all Israeli hostages for Palestinians jailed in Israel, a senior official from the Palestinian fighter group said, rejecting Israel’s offer of an interim truce.

In a televised speech, Khalil Al-Hayya, the group’s Gaza chief who leads its negotiating team, said the group would no longer agree to interim deals, adopting a position that Israel is unlikely to accept and potentially further delaying an end to the devastating attacks that restarted in recent weeks.

Instead, Hayya said Hamas was ready to immediately engage in “comprehensive package negotiations” to release all remaining hostages in its custody in return for an end to the Gaza war, the release of Palestinians jailed by Israel, and the reconstruction of Gaza.

“Netanyahu and his government use partial agreements as a cover for their political agenda, which is based on continuing the war of extermination and starvation, even if the price is sacrificing all his prisoners (hostages),” said Hayya, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.