Israeli envoy says official list of living hostages remains at 24 after Trump said it dropped to 21

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hostage point-man Gal Hirsch says Israel’s official list of living hostages still has 24 names on it after US President Donald Trump told reporters earlier this evening that the total number of living hostages in Gaza dropped from 24 to 21.

A source familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel that the discrepancy could be due to the fact that Israel might have intelligence that certain hostages are no longer alive or has yet to obtain any sign of life from them since their kidnapping but that their deaths have not been definitively confirmed.

Hirsch tweets that Hamas is currently holding 59 hostages — 24 of whom are on the list of living hostages and 35 of whom are on the list of hostages whose deaths have been officially confirmed.

Of the 59 hostages, five are foreign nationals, Hirsch says.

Amid anger from hostage families over learning about such developments in the media, Hirsch insists that his office maintains regular contact with hostage families and is always available for updates and clarifications.