Trump: A couple of hostages could have been killed in recent days

Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief

US President Donald Trump talks to reporters on the South Lawn as he departs the White House, on September 11, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
US President Donald Trump talks to reporters on the South Lawn as he departs the White House, on September 11, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

US President Donald Trump tells Fox News “there could be a couple of dead in recent days” from the 20 hostages thought to still be alive in Gaza.

Over the past several months, Trump has repeatedly made public comments suggesting that fewer hostages than the official Israeli number are alive, leading to panic among hostage families who have not been updated on such developments.

For several weeks, Israel has insisted that the number of hostages it believes are alive remains at 20, though officials have acknowledged that there are grave concerns regarding one or two of them.

Hamas and other terror groups are also holding the bodies of 38 other hostages, though Trump incorrectly tells Fox News that the number is 34.

“I told Hamas, we want our hostages back. We have all the Americans back, but now I’m talking about hostages, mostly Israeli,” Trump says during an interview on Fox & Friends. Two of the bodies still held by Hamas are of American citizens Omer Neutra and Itay Chen.

Trump goes on to assert that the US will solve the situation in Gaza.

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