As negotiators continue to try to finalize a deal between Israel and Hamas for a cease-fire and hostage release, a senior leader for Hamas said they don’t know how many of the hostages are still alive. There are said to be 120 hostages who have not returned home since the initial attack on Oct. 7, 2023, by the terrorist group.
Israel believes more than 70 of the 120 hostages are still alive.
In an interview that aired Thursday, June 13, with CNN in Beirut, Hamas spokesman Osama Hamdan was asked about the fate of the hostages.
“I don’t have any idea about that,” Hamdan said. “No one has any idea about this.”
Hamdan said the latest cease-fire proposal, announced by President Joe Biden last week and backed by the United Nations Security Council, was a “positive step” but did not meet Hamas’ demands to end the war.
“We need a clear position from Israel to accept a cease-fire, a complete withdrawal from Gaza, and let the Palestinians determine their future by themselves,” Hamdan said.
The latest cease-fire plan called for the release of the hostages and the full withdrawal of Israeli troops in three phases.
Previously, Secretary of State Antony Blinken called some of Hamas’ proposed changes to the cease-fire plan “unacceptable.”
