Israeli officials don’t know how many Hamas hostages are still alive as they call for ‘two-way humanitarianism’: ‘It’s a black hole’

Israeli officials grimly admitted last night that they do not know how many Hamas hostages are still alive after being taken underground a month ago.

The officials, during a display of Hamas brutality at the New York consulate, made a public plea for two-way humanitarian assistance to rescue the hostages as the world calls for a ceasefire to help Gaza’s remaining civilians. to rescue.

Lieutenant Commander Jonathan Conricus said from Tel Aviv via Zoom that of the 1.1 million civilians in Gaza, between 850,000 and 900,000 have fled northern Gaza. Yesterday, 50,000 people evacuated the region between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m., he said.

These figures have not been confirmed by Palestinian officials, who said today that the civilian death toll now stands at 11,000.

On October 7, more than 200 hostages were taken from Israel by Hamas fighters. The youngest is a ten-month-old baby.

Hamas has released video footage of some hostages as proof of life, saying last week it was “ready” to allow some to return home after brutal airstrikes.

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Some of the 239 hostages taken by Hamas are seen in a video released by the militant group last month. Israeli officials say they have no confirmation of how many people are still alive

The health of the majority of the hostages is still unknown.

“We have information that we don’t share, but it’s largely a black hole.

‘They are divided into groups, but we don’t know how. Hamas won’t even give us their names.

“There are 10 people who we still cannot say whether they were murdered or kidnapped because the bodies of the murdered people were so badly burned,” said Aviv Ezra, Israel’s acting consul general in New York.

Israel calls for the release of the hostages during the four-hour, daily humanitarian breaks agreed yesterday.

‘Humanitarianism is a two-way street. We are not given even the most basic information – the names of the hostages – but we are creating humanitarian breaks for Palestinian civilians and providing aid.

“Why can’t the Red Cross intervene and ensure that our citizens have access to food, water and aid?” This is what Itay Milner, spokesperson for the consulate in New York, said.

IDF Lieutenant Commander Jonathan Conricus told journalists last night that the forces have “exposed” 130 Hamas tunnels and continue to dismantle key strongholds

According to IDF officials, tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians flee northern Gaza every day.

One fear is that as Hamas fighters become increasingly desperate under constant fire from Israel, they could use the hostages as human shields.

‘We have no doubt that if necessary, Hamas would hide behind our citizens, the hostages. They hide behind their own citizens. They hide under hospitals, schools, kindergartens, in boy scouts.

“What we do know is that nothing will move unless we keep the pressure on,” Ezra added.

As far as he knows, there have been no ransom demands or negotiations for the release of the hostages.

The comments were made after a screening of the 47-minute compilation of footage shown by Israel to reporters as part of an ongoing effort to remind the world of the attack that rejected the current conflict.

You can read DailyMail.com’s summary of those images here.

The officials shared it, they said, to dismiss suggestions from some Palestinian supporters that the atrocity had not occurred.

‘There are still those who deny it. They want us to bring out the body of a decapitated baby so they can believe it,” Lt. Commander Conricus said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. Netanyahu said today that a ceasefire is ‘not an option’