How many hostages are left in Gaza?

By The Associated Press

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Israel has recovered the bodies of two hostages held in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli American Gad Haggai and Judih Weinstein — who was Israeli, American and Canadian — were killed during Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack into southern Israel that ignited the war in Gaza. Their remains were returned to Israel in a special operation by the army and the Shin Bet internal security agency, Netanyahu said.

Hamas-led terrorists killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 hostages in the Oct. 7 attack. More than 54,000 Palestinians in Gaza, mostly women and children, have been killed in the ensuing conflict, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza. The ministry doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants. Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, Canada and the European Union.

Here are details on the hostages:

• Total hostages captured on Oct. 7, 2023: 251
• Hostages taken before the Oct. 7 attack: 4, including 2 who entered Gaza in 2014 and 2015 and the bodies of 2 soldiers killed in the 2014 war
• Hostages released in exchanges or other deals: 148, of whom 8 were dead
• Bodies of hostages retrieved by Israeli forces: 43
• Hostages rescued alive: 8
• Hostages still in captivity: 56, of whom Israel believes 33 are dead. Netanyahu has said there are “doubts” about the fate of several more.
• The hostages in captivity include: 5 non-Israelis (3 Thais, 1 Nepalese, 1 Tanzanian), of whom 3 (2 Thais and 1 Tanzanian) have been confirmed dead

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