Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged Wednesday that three more hostages in Gaza may be dead — after his wife was caught on a hot mic saying fewer than 24 were believed to still be alive.
Netanyahu said that despite months of assurance that 24 hostages were alive under Hamas captivity, Israel is now only certain that 21 are still living.
“There are another three who, unfortunately, there is doubt if they are alive,” the premier said in a statement.
It was the first such admission from Netanyahu since the families of the hostages began demanding answers when his wife was caught on hot mic last week saying fewer than the 24 were still alive.
The calls for transparency reached a fervor Tuesday night after Trump told reporters that three hostages “have died,” without elaborating.
“There’s 21, plus a lot of dead bodies,” Trump said.
Prior to Trump’s comments, Israel maintained that there were 24 living hostages in Gaza, including American Edan Alexander, along with the bodies of 35 others.
Alexander’s whereabouts remain unknown after Hamas claimed last month that it “lost contact” with the operatives holding him following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza.
The growing uncertainty over the condition of the hostages has only been compounded by Israeli official’s latest shift labeling victory over Hamas the number one priority, relegating the safety of the captives to a secondary goal.
Netanyahu shocked the families of the hostages when he publicly labeled victory over Hamas as the “supreme objective” of Israel’s war in Gaza.
The hostage’s safe return has even been dropped to only the sixth most important goal for the Israel Defense Forces, according to a list of military priorities obtained by the local Haaretz newspaper.
The new list now puts defeating Hamas at the top, followed by gaining control over Gaza, demilitarizing the enclave, taking out Hamas’ government targets, moving the population, and then returning the captives.
As uneasiness grows in Israel, Trump teased that there would be a big development in Gaza “in the next 24 hours.”
The president made the comments after he was asked if he would be introducing a new hostage deal proposal before his big trip to the region scheduled for next week.