On Tuesday, Trump said that three more hostages held by Hamas in Gaza had died
JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday cast doubt over the fate of three captives held in Gaza since Hamas's October 2023 attack, after US President Donald Trump earlier announced that number had died.
"We know for sure that 21 hostages are alive, there is no debate about that, and there are three others that unfortunately we do not know if they are alive," Netanyahu said in a video statement.
"What is certain is 21 but we do not give up on anyone, not the remaining three and not all the others," he added in the statement posted on the Telegram messaging app.
On Tuesday, Trump said that three more hostages held by Hamas in Gaza had died.
"We want to try and get as many hostages saved as possible," he said. "This is a terrible situation."
The Israeli military, in its most recent update, said that out of the 251 people abducted by militants on October 7, 2023, 58 are still held in Gaza including 34 believed to be dead.
Hamas is also holding the remains of an Israeli soldier killed in a previous war in Gaza in 2014.
Earlier on Wednesday, Israel's hostages coordinator Gal Hirsch wrote on X saying the number of living captives remained unchanged, contradicting the US president.
Trump, who heads next week to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, has repeatedly demanded the return of the hostages.
Israel's military resumed its offensive on the Gaza Strip on March 18, ending a two-month truce that saw a surge in aid into the war-ravaged territory and the release of hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Tuesday at least 2,507 people had been killed since Israel resumed its campaign, bringing the overall death toll from the war to 52,615.
