Qatar says dozens of Israeli hostages have gone missing in Gaza

Israel claimed that Hamas militants kidnapped around 240 hostages when they launched the surprise attack on October 7, but in a recent report, Qatar said that at least 40 women and children are not with Hamas, and unaccounted for.

Thousands were killed on both sides during the war which started after the October 7 attack, but a four-day true came as a brief respite which was extended for 48 hours. As part of the deal, Israel returned Palestinian detainees from prisons, and Hamas agreed to free some hostages.

A total of 60 Israeli hostages have been freed so far, and the families are hoping that the authorities will free the rest of them. But amidst the truce, the report of missing hostages is concerning. Qatar's PM, a mediator in the negotiations, told The Financial Times on Sunday that Hamas was unable to locate some 40 women and children being held.

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Where are the hostages?

Hamas leaders have previously accused other militant groups for somehostages going missing. They have claimed that they sent their militants to Israel to get their own captives on October 7.

Qatar's claim aligns with what Hamas' rival militant group, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, has said. As per reports, it claimed that it is holding Israeli 30 hostages.

As quoted by Sky News, Hans-Jakob Schindler, who is a senior director at the transatlantic think tank the Counter Extremism Project, said that the situation is "terribly unclear".

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"It's important to note that Islamic Jihad and Hamas don't have a cooperative relationship - they're actually competitors," he told the outlet.

"So it's not entirely clear if Hamas can get Islamic Jihad to release any of the hostages it may be holding. And it seems it wasn't just them and Hamas involved in the 7 October attack. There's been a well-developed smuggling economy in Gaza for decades - long before Hamas took control - organised by networks of crime families."

"So it's possible hostages are neither under the control of Hamas nor Islamic Jihad - but these crime organisations," he added. Some hostages are probably being held by independent criminals. But there's no confirmation.

Are they even alive?

The reports have established one thing,that some of the hostages are unaccounted for, but there's a possibility that Hamas lied to Qatar to indirectly mislead Israel. There's no concrete evidence for all the claims related to the missing hostages.

Hamas has already claimed that between 50 and 60 hostages have been killed in airstrikes from late October. They haven't provided evidence to support their claims.

Hence, the fate of dozens of hostages is not clear yet as their families hope and pray for their safe return.

(With inputs from agencies)

Disclaimer: WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing developments on the Israel-Palestine conflict after the Hamas attacks. However, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.