JAKARTA - Israeli authorities announced for the first time the exact number of hostages they have been holding in Gaza since the conflict broke out in the territory, while the military admitted that it did not have complete information regarding the whereabouts and location of the hostages.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on Wednesday that 253 people had been taken hostage in Gaza in the October 7 attack, announcing the exact number for the first time, quoted from CNN, January 18.
Israel had previously said there were "more than 250," PM Netanyahu's office said.
Separately, Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said the military still does not have information on where all the hostages are being held in the Gaza Strip.
In a press conference, Rear Admiral Hagari said the IDF was "making every effort to build an intelligence picture regarding the hostages."
"We are adapting the fighting (in Gaza) based on the intelligence we have. We have to say to the public, we do not have a complete picture of the hostages," he said, quoted by The Times of Israel.
"We continue to work, intelligence-wise, to complete the picture," Hagari continued.
He said that efforts to repatriate the hostages were the IDF's top priority, which included intelligence and operational actions.
"The most important thing is to create ideal conditions on the ground... so that there will be action to repatriate the hostages," he said, referring to the army's ground offensive against Hamas.
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It is known that Hamas and other militant groups operating in Gaza took hostages in surprise attacks, killing around 1,200 other people in attacks on southern Israel last October.
After the release of the hostages and one rescue, Israel now believes around 132 hostages are still being held in Gaza, with 105 of them alive and 27 dead.
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