Almost 50 hostages killed so far from Israeli bombings on Gaza — Hamas

Hamas's armed wing has said that "almost 50" Israeli hostages held by its fighters in Gaza have been killed by the Israeli bombarding of the Palestinian territory.

"Qassam Brigades estimates that the number of Zionist prisoners who were killed in Gaza as a result of Zionist strikes and massacres has reached almost 50," the group said in a statement on Thursday issued on its Telegram channel.

Israel launched a massive air and artillery bombardment of Gaza after Hamas carried out a brutal attack on Israel on October 7.

Earlier, the Israeli army said 224 people were abducted by Hamas during the attack that left 1,400 people dead.

"We have informed the families of 224 hostages. This number is changing based on the intelligence we obtain," military spokesperson Daniel Hagari told reporters.

"It will continue to change. The effort to return the hostages is a top priority."

According to Israeli government figures that could not be confirmed by TRT World, at least half of the hostages have foreign passports.

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Source: TRT