(ProsperNews.net) – The estimated number of people held hostage by Hamas has been revised upward to approximately 200, while some released hostages describe their experiences to reporters. Following their surprise attack on Israeli civilians on October 7, Hamas took hundreds of people, including children and older people, back to the Gaza Strip to use as negotiation tools with the Jewish state.
Figures were initially estimated at around 100, but officials say the actual number is more than 200. Israeli media reports that the kidnapped included 30 teenagers and 20 people over 60. Hamas claim more than a dozen hostages have died as a result of Israeli air strikes on Gaza.
Among the hostages are an estimated 10 Americans, 8 Germans, 17 Thai citizens, 16 Argentinians, 9 British nationals, and an unconfirmed number of French citizens. Also unaccounted for are citizens of the Netherlands, Portugal, and Italy.
Yocheved Lifshitz, who is 85 years old, was released by Hamas into Egypt on October 24 and immediately flown to a hospital in Tel Aviv. Along with 79-year-old Nurit Cooper and their husbands, they were taken from their homes in the kibbutz of Nir Oz on October 7.
Their husbands were not released. Mrs. Lifshitz said she “went through hell” and described a “spiderweb of tunnels” underneath the Palestinian enclave. She and her husband were peace activists who often helped Gazans by taking them to Israel for medical treatment.
Hamas released Nurit Cooper at the same time, and she was taken into the care of the Red Cross near the Egyptian border.
The handover of hostages is mainly being facilitated by Qatar, which is leading negotiations involving Egypt, Israel, and Hamas. The terrorist organization is said to have requested that Israel allow humanitarian assistance into the Gaza Strip in return for the kidnapped civilians. On October 20, following an agreement between the US, Egypt, and Israel, trucks containing essentials such as food and medical supplies entered Gaza for the first time since October 7.
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