More than a fifth of the hostages being held by Hamas militants in Gaza are dead, claims an internal assessment conducted by the Israeli military.

As per the Israeli military report, 32 of the 136 hostages captured by Hamas and its allies during their Oct. 7 attack on Israel have died since the start of the ongoing war in the Middle East. The report curated by Israeli intelligence officers has been reviewed and reported on by the New York Times.

As per the report citing four military officials speaking on the condition of anonymity, families of the deceased Hamas hostages have been informed after the deaths were confirmed.

The officials told NYT that at least 20 other hostages may also have been killed in detention. They said that the military was in the process of assessing the veracity as of now unconfirmed intelligence.

This figure, of 32 dead hostages, as per the report, is higher than any number previously disclosed by the Israeli authorities. In a comment to the publication, the Israeli military disclosed that most of the dead were killed on Oct 7 itself.

Worsening tensions

Tensions between Israel and Hamas are continuously on rise. This news is likely to worsen the situation. As per the report, it may cause a furore in Israel where debate over the government course of action to bring back the hostages has divided opinions.

Some, as per Reuters, have accused international organisations, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government of not doing enough to ensure the hostages’ return.

The Oct 7 attack claimed 1,200 lives. Around 250 people were taken to the Palestinian enclave as hostages. Of these, roughly half have been freed — most of them during a temporary truce in November of last year, when they were exchanged for 240 Palestinian prisoners and detainees held in Israeli jails.

Since then, the issue of what price Israel should pay to get the more than 100 remaining hostages back, and how to balance that goal against its other stated war objective, to destroy Hamas, has become increasingly polarising.

Israel has vowed to annihilate Hamas in Gaza after the militant group’s fighters rampaged through Israeli towns. The country’s government has said that its military operations in Gaza will bring back the hostages.

However, families have increasingly been putting pressure on Netanyahu, with the leader’s popularity falling to rock bottom over the war.

Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu told the families of hostages that a “real effort” was being made towards their return. However, he said that it was too early to say how such a move would play out.