Donald Trump said on Tuesday that three more hostages held by Hamas in Gaza have died, bringing the number still alive to 21.
At a White House swearing-in ceremony for his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump revealed that three more Israeli hostages have died in Gaza, meaning that just 21 of the hostages taken from Israel during the 7 October attacks remain alive.
“Well, we’ve gone very slowly,” Trump said of efforts to end the conflict, “because we want to try and get as many hostages saved as possible, and we’ve done a good job in that regard.”
“Two weeks ago, I had 10 hostages come in, and they thanked me profusely,” Trump continued. The Oval Office meeting was in fact two months ago, with eight former hostages.
The president then appeared to recount a conversation with the freed hostages about how many captives remained in Gaza.
“I said, ‘How many people are left?’” Trump said. “They said 59. I said, ‘Oh, wow, that’s more than I thought’. They said, ‘Well, only 24 are living.’”
“But now it’s 21,” Trump added, without revealing the source of his information. “That was a week ago. Now it’s 21 are living.”
“I say 21, because, as of today, it’s 21. Three have died,” the president said.
He did not provide any further details.
“This is a terrible situation,” Trump said.
The Israeli military, in its most recent update, said of the 251 people abducted 58 are still held in Gaza, including 34 believed to be dead.
Israel’s military resumed its offensive in Gaza on 18 March, ending a two-month truce that saw a surge in aid into the war-ravaged territory and the release of hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
Hamas’s attack resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
The health ministry in Gaza said at least 2,507 people had been killed since Israel resumed its campaign in mid-March, bringing the overall death toll from the war to 52,615.
