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TEL AVIV — Hamas has told Israel that eight of 26 Israeli hostages set to be released as part of the first phase of the ceasefire are dead, a Middle Eastern official briefed on the matter told NBC News Monday.
It is believed to be the first time that the militant group has said exactly how many hostages are dead or alive. Later, a spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said these numbers matched information gleaned by Israeli intelligence.
The first three Israeli hostages, Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher and Emily Damari, a dual British citizen, were freed earlier this month in exchange for 90 Palestinian detainees — mostly women and children.
On Saturday, four female Israeli soldiers were released in exchange for 200 Palestinian prisoners, many of whom were serving life sentences after being convicted of deadly attacks.
The ceasefire’s first phase, which is set to run until early March, includes the release of 33 hostages and nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. The second phase has yet to be fully negotiated.
The fragile truce was placed in jeopardy on Saturday after Israel prevented Palestinian civilians from moving back to their homes in northern Gaza. It said Hamas had violated the agreement because it had not released hostage Arbel Yehoud.
Hamas also accused Israel of breaking the deal, but on Monday Qatar, one of the leading mediators in the talks to bring an end to the fighting, said in a statement that Yehoud would be freed along with two other hostages before Friday.
Three other captives are also set be released on Saturday and many in Israel are hopeful that Kfir Bibas, the youngest hostage still in captivity in Gaza will be among those released.
Kfir was just shy of 9 months old when he was kidnapped during the Hamas-led terrorist attack Oct.7, 2023, along with his 5-year-old brother, Ariel, and his parents, Yarden and Shiri Bibas.
He turned 2 earlier this month, having never known a birthday outside captivity.
While all other child hostages were released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners during a one-week ceasefire in November 2023, the Bibas family never emerged from Gaza and on one of the final days of the brief pause in fighting, Hamas said in a statement that the toddler had been killed in an Israeli airstrike along with his mom and brother.