Hersh: US and Israel have accurate estimates of number of living hostages in Gaza

The number of surviving Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip is decreasing. At the same time, US and Israeli intelligence have accurate estimates of this number, American journalist and Pulitzer Prize winner Seymour Hersh said in his blog on Substack.

The journalist added that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stopped mentioning the topic of hostages in his recent speeches.

“This, I am told, is partly due to the fact that intelligence estimates of the number of hostages still alive are declining.” — wrote Hersh.

According to him, although the Israeli and American authorities have data on the number of surviving hostages, they prefer not to make this information public.

On March 9, 2024, Hamas said that seven Israeli hostages were killed as a result of Israeli Defense Forces strikes on the Gaza Strip.

Hamas also reported that it had not received any guarantees from the Israeli authorities on the issue of a truce. It follows that hostilities will resume as soon as the Palestinians return the hostages held in the Gaza Strip.