Israeli analysts state that currently the Palestinian Hamas is holding 51 hostages alive, and the rest are dead, although this has not been officially announced, the newspaper Israel Hayom (Israel Today) reported today.

Two months ago, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a parliamentary committee briefing that half of the hostages were alive.

The data relied on by Netanyahu is based on information collected through various channels since October 7 last year when Palestinian extremists from Gaza led by Hamas attacked southern Israel.

That means the 50 Israeli hostages in Gaza are no longer alive, although 37 of them have so far been officially declared dead and said their bodies are being held by Hamas. According to Israeli media, at least 13 more are estimated to be dead.

It is also said that the difference is explained by the fact that a death certificate requires absolute evidence upon which medical and religious rabbinic authorities can declare that a person is no longer alive.

As noted, there is no such evidence, but Israel appears to have enough information to estimate how many hostages are still alive.