Israeli Military Admits 306 Members Died And 203 Residents Arrested In Gaza Strip

IDF spokesman Laksda Daniel Badhi (leftmost) along with other IDF officials. (Wikimedia Commons/IDF Spokesperson's Unit)

JAKARTA - The Israeli military (IDF) has acknowledged that hundreds of its members have died since armed clashes with Hamas broke out, while hundreds of nationals are said to be held hostage in the Gaza Strip.

IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Allahhi said the military had so far notified the families of 203 hostages that their loved ones were being held in the Gaza Strip, as reported by The Times of Israel, October 19.

In addition, he also added, about 306 Israeli militaries have been killed since the attack carried out by Hamas militants last October 7, quoted by ABC News.

However, Laksda Badminton said the number was not final, because the IDF continues to investigate new information about the number of residents who have been missing since the Hamas attack.

They further explained that in some cases the family was told that the military was very confident that their family members were being held in Gaza.

On the other hand, there are also cases with moderate to low assessments if a resident is held hostage, and rules out several cases and provides information to the family if their loved ones are not held hostage.

It said the military had searched Gaza's border area to search for the bodies of Israelis who were missing, found several, and many bodies were still waiting to be identified.

Meanwhile, several members of the Israeli family who were angry in Gaza on Wednesday, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would allow humanitarian aid to be delivered to the region via Egypt, without any concessions for their loved ones in return.

"The decision to allow humanitarian aid to killers in Gaza has angered family members," the Bring Them Home Now organization, formed to represent the families of the kidnapping victims, said in a statement.

Earlier, the Israeli government said it would not provide water electricity to fuel for blockaded Gaza, until all hostages were released.

Most recently, President Biden, who visited Israel yesterday, said his ally had agreed that humanitarian aid could enter Gaza via Egypt. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that, but said his party would not allow supplies into the enclave from its own territory until Hamas released all hostages.

Senior militant official Hamas Izzat al-Risheq said last week it was too early to discuss the exchange of hostages with the Israeli side.

"We will only discuss this issue once the Israeli aggression against our people is over," said al-Risheq of Doha, Qatar, as quoted by CNN.