According to the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, out of the 94 hostages taken on October 7, 81 are men and 13 are women. Among them are two children under the age of five. The breakdown of the hostages is as follows: 84 are Israelis, eight are Thai, one is Nepalese, and one is Tanzanian.
The Commission of Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society report that Israel currently holds at least 10,000 Palestinian prisoners. This figure includes 3,376 individuals held under administrative detention. This means they have not been charged publicly or faced trial, including 95 children and 22 women. It is noted that this total does not encompass an unspecified number of Palestinians held captive in Gaza.
Negotiations are underway to progress to the second and third phases of a ceasefire agreement aimed at ending the ongoing conflict. An Israeli official has stated that talks for these phases will commence on the 16th day following the initial implementation of the deal. While the continuity of the ceasefire beyond its first phase is not assured, Israel expresses its commitment to the safe return of all hostages and its willingness to engage in negotiations in good faith. This could potentially result in the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
Although the agreement does not guarantee an immediate cessation of hostilities, Israel has committed to participating in discussions to advance to the subsequent phase of the accord. Reports from The Associated Press indicate that mediators have verbally assured Hamas that they will exert pressure on Israel to facilitate progress towards the later stages of the agreement.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health has reported that since the commencement of Israel’s offensive in response to Hamas’ attack on October 7, the Israeli military has caused the deaths of at least 46,645 Palestinians in Gaza. Additionally, over 110,000 individuals have sustained injuries as a result of the conflict.
Contributions to this report were made by CNN’s Becky Anderson and Hira Humayun.
To access more news and newsletters from CNN, viewers are encouraged to create an account on CNN.com.
