The Israeli army raised this Monday more than 220 the number of hostages made by the Islamist group Hamas in the October 7 attack against Israel, which began a war in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari said authorities have so far managed to confirm the abduction of 222 people, including soldiers captured during the Hamas offensive, whose families have been notified.
Likewise, the number of dead soldiers during the attack of the Islamist group increased to 308according to a statement published by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on its website.
Hamas’s first and unprecedented surprise attack also left almost 1,400 dead and triggered a wave of bombings against the Gaza Strip that has already killed almost 4,700 Palestinians.
According to Hagari, Among the hostages there are a significant number of foreignersalthough this balance does not include Judith Raanan and her daughter Natalie, an Israeli-American national, released by Hamas on Friday night.
The spokesman also stated that the Israeli army “is trying by all means to free the hostages and bring them home,” after being asked about the possibility of postponing the possible ground offensive against the Gaza Strip until there is time for efforts to liberate to the hostages.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant declared Sunday night that a ground offensive in gaza can last several months since its objective is to eliminate the armed group.
“This should be the last maneuver [terrestre] in Gaza, for the simple reason that, after it, Hamas will no longer exist. It will take a month, two months, three, but in the end it will not exist,” he concluded.
You Israeli army attacks to Gaza after Hamas attack caused almost 4,700 deaths -including more than 1,800 children- and around 14,000 injured.
Additionally, around 1.4 million Palestinians have fled and are displaced, according to the latest assessment by the United Nations Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Middle East (UNRWA).
Source: TSF
