WASHINGTON, June 21. /TASS/. At least 50 of the 116 hostages who are still held in the Gaza Strip by the radical Palestinian movement Hamas may be alive, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) said.

The newspaper reported citing sources that apparently, 66 people remaining in the enclave are dead.

The Wall Street Journal does not rule out that more hostages may die due to severe conditions of detention, their injuries and inability to receive necessary medical treatment.

In February, the WSJ reported citing US and Egyptian officials that at least 50 people captured by Hamas had died.

Tensions flared up in the Middle East after Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip attacked Israeli territory on October 7, 2023, killing residents of border settlements and taking over 240 hostages. In response, Israel launched a military operation in Gaza to eradicate Hamas’ military and political structure and to release all the hostages. In late November 2023, a temporary humanitarian truce was brokered by Egypt and Qatar and lasted a week. According to Israel, 110 hostages were released then. On December 1, the ceasefire was broken and combat operations resumed and are still going on.

On June 8, 2024, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that four hostages had been successfully released during a special operation in the Gaza Strip.