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At least 199 people are being held hostage by Hamas, Israel says, more than earlier estimates
(JTA) — Israeli officials have notified the relatives of 199 people that their loved ones are believed to be hostages in Gaza, an Israel Defense Forces spokesperson said on Monday.
The number marked a sharp revision of the army’s previous estimate of the number of Israeli captives, which had grown to 155 in the days after Hamas struck Israel Oct. 7, leaving thousands of people dead, wounded or taken hostage.
The new estimate comes as Israel prepares for a ground invasion of Gaza that families of the hostages fear could put their loved ones at further risk.
“We are making valiant efforts to try to understand where the hostages are in Gaza, and we have such information,” an Israel Defense Forces spokesman, Daniel Hagari, said at a press conference Monday, according to Times of Israel. “We will not carry out an attack that would endanger our people.”
Little information has emerged publicly about the condition, whereabouts or survival of the hostages after an initial flurry of videos released right after the attack. It was also not clear whether the IDF believed that 199 represented a comprehensive estimate of the number of hostages. The bodies of several hostages, who had been killed, were recovered when the Israeli military led a small incursion into Gaza ahead of the invasion.
They have held press conferences to call attention to the missing, created viral social media videos showcasing the names and information about the hostages and made available posters that volunteers have plastered in public spaces, including in New York City subway stations.
The hostages include women, children and the elderly and have drawn significant attention from international leaders, including President Joe Biden, who spoke with their families for 90 minutes on Friday, and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who has been moving among Middle East countries trying to broker their release. A diplomatic source told the Times of Israel on Sunday that Qatar was involved in the effort as well but that Israel had so far declined to participate in talks.
“Israel will not hold negotiations with an enemy that we have vowed to wipe from the face of the earth,” the head of Israel’s National Security Council said on Saturday, eliciting ire from the families of the missing.
On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with representatives of the missing for the first time, vowing to do everything possible to bring them home. But a family that has not been part of the collective organizing appeared at the meeting and expressed support for Netanyahu, according to a Haaretz report, creating tensions with the others who have accused the prime minister of giving too little attention to their family members’ plight.
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The post At least 199 people are being held hostage by Hamas, Israel says, more than earlier estimates appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Israel Rejects Critical EU Report Ahead of Ministers’ Meeting
FILE PHOTO: Smoke rises from Gaza after an explosion, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, June 11, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen/File Photo
Israel has rejected a European Union report saying it may be breaching human rights obligations in Gaza and the West Bank as a “moral and methodological failure,” according to a document seen by Reuters on Sunday.
The note, sent to EU officials ahead of a foreign ministers’ meeting on Monday, said the report by the bloc’s diplomatic service failed to consider Israel’s challenges and was based on inaccurate information.
“The Foreign Ministry of the State of Israel rejects the document … and finds it to be a complete moral and methodological failure,” the note said, adding that it should be dismissed entirely.
The post Israel Rejects Critical EU Report Ahead of Ministers’ Meeting first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Pope Leo Urges International Diplomacy to Prevent ‘Irreparable Abyss’
FILE PHOTO: Pope Leo XIV holds a Jubilee audience on the occasion of the Jubilee of Sport, at St. Peter’s Basilica, at the Vatican June 14, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Yara Nardi/File Photo
Pope Leo on Sunday said the international community must strive to avoid war that risks opening an “irreparable abyss,” and that diplomacy should take the place of conflict.
US forces struck Iran’s three main nuclear sites overnight, joining an Israeli assault in a major new escalation of conflict in the Middle East as Tehran vowed to defend itself.
“Every member of the international community has a moral responsibility: to stop the tragedy of war before it becomes an irreparable abyss,” Pope Leo said during his weekly prayer with pilgrims.
“No armed victory can compensate for the pain of mothers, the fear of children, the stolen future. Let diplomacy silence the weapons, let nations chart their future with peace efforts, not with violence and bloody conflicts,” he added.
“In this dramatic scenario, which includes Israel and Palestine, the daily suffering of the population, especially in Gaza and other territories, risks being forgotten, where the need for adequate humanitarian support is becoming increasingly urgent,” Pope Leo said.
The post Pope Leo Urges International Diplomacy to Prevent ‘Irreparable Abyss’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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El Al Says to Start Rescue Flights Out of Israel Starting on Monday, After Getting 25,000 Applications
FILE PHOTO: Aircraft belonging to Israel’s state carrier El Al and Israir among other airlines, are parked at Larnaca International Airport, in Larnaca, Cyprus June 16, 2025. REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou/File Photo
Israeli airline El Al said it would resume flights out of Tel Aviv airport on Monday, as the government began to allow limited “rescue” flights in the midst of the Middle East conflict and US bombing of Iran.
El Al said it had received 25,000 applications for flights out of Israel since it opened a web site for requests on Saturday, although government rules will limit flights to 50 passengers each, it added in a Sunday statement.
The post El Al Says to Start Rescue Flights Out of Israel Starting on Monday, After Getting 25,000 Applications first appeared on Algemeiner.com.