During a gathering with this year’s Independence Day torchlighters, Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu stated that “there are up to 24 hostages alive.” In a moment captured on video and released Tuesday, his wife, Sara Netanyahu, appeared to quietly mouth the word “fewer” in Hebrew as he made the remark.
Netanyahu then clarified, “I say up to. The rest, of course, are unfortunately no longer alive.”
The tragic backdrop to these statements dates back to the horrific events of October 7, 2023, when Hamas terrorists stormed communities in southern Israel, abducting more than 250 individuals and taking them into Gaza. As of now, 59 people are still believed to be held by Hamas.
“Until today, we have returned 196 of our hostages, 147 alive,” Netanyahu stated, referencing the total number of captives released or recovered so far.
An Israeli official engaged in the ongoing negotiations confirmed that Netanyahu’s estimate was accurate. “The number of living hostages mentioned by the Prime Minister during the meeting with the torchlighters is indeed the correct official number, and it is also the official number submitted by the Coordinator for the Hostage and Missing Persons Affairs to the mediators during the negotiations,” the source said.
Meanwhile, conflicting reports about the state of negotiations with Hamas have added to the public confusion. On Tuesday, an Israeli official denied claims that progress had been made in the talks, contradicting a report from the previous day suggesting discussions were heading in a more pessimistic direction.
Sara Netanyahu’s offhand remark has sparked a firestorm, especially among the families of hostages. Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan is among those still unaccounted for, took to social media to demand answers. “If the prime minister’s wife has new information about kidnapped people who were killed, I demand to know whether my Matan is still alive or was he murdered in captivity because your husband refuses to end the war,” she wrote on X/Twitter.
The Hostage Families’ Forum also issued a sharply worded response, accusing Sara Netanyahu of stoking fear during a particularly emotional time for families. “Do you know something we don’t? We demand that the Prime Minister clarify his and his wife’s statements. If there is intelligence or new information regarding the condition of our loved ones, we demand full disclosure,” the forum stated.
{Matzav.com Israel}