Israel’s Netanyahu says ‘in contact’ to release hostages held by Hamas

JERUSALEM

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday he is holding “contacts” to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

“We are in contact until this moment. The situation cannot be detailed, and we are working to recover them all,” Netanyahu said during a meeting with families of the hostages.

He, however, did not provide any further details about the nature of the contacts.

Families of Israelis held captive by Hamas have called for protests on Thursday to pressure the government to work for their release.

Last month, Hamas released 81 Israelis and 24 foreigners under a weeklong humanitarian pause with Israel in return for 240 Palestinian women and children from Israeli jails.

Israel estimates that there are around 130 Israelis still held in Gaza by Palestinian groups.

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7, leaving it in ruins, with half of the coastal territory's housing damaged or destroyed and nearly 2 million people displaced within the densely populated enclave amid acute shortages of food and clean water.

At least 21,320 Palestinians have since been killed and 55,603 others injured, according to local health authorities, while nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar