A senior Hamas official has said the group does not know how many of the Israeli hostages it is holding in Gaza are still alive, as Israeli and Hamas sources set out positions that could undermine the possibility of an imminent ceasefire deal.
The Lebanon-based Hamas official Osama Hamdan said in an interview with CNN that “no one has any idea” how many of the remaining 120 hostages captured on 7 October last year were still alive, amid Israeli estimates that at least a third had died in captivity or were killed when seized.
Reiterating Hamas’s position on the US-supported ceasefire proposal, now backed by a UN security council resolution, he said the group needed “a clear position from Israel to accept the ceasefire, a complete withdrawal from Gaza, and let the Palestinians to determine their future by themselves”.
He also referred to the need for reconstruction and the end of the years-long Israeli blockade of Gaza. “[Then] we are ready to talk about a fair deal about the prisoners exchange,” he said.
Israel has been shutting down communications in Gaza since the beginning, whether by power disconnects or cutting off fuel supplies for generators.
Oct 27 - The Destruction of Gaza’s Internet Is Complete
Nov 16 - Telecommunications cut off in Gaza after fuel runs out amid Israeli siege
Jan 12 - Gaza is facing yet another communications blackout.
Mar 3 - Destruction from the war with Israel has cut Gaza off from the outside world
Yeah, but even before that they weren’t using phone communications, which is how they were able to surprise the IDF on Oct 7.