Netanyahu offers $5 million for each hostage. How many are still captive with Hamas?

Ceasefire talks have stalled, and there’s increasing pressure from the families of hostages captured by Hamas for their release.

On Tuesday, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reaffirmed that his country would find and punish anyone who hurts a hostage. He also promised $5 million as a reward for each hostage’s return.

But how many hostages does Hamas have? Let’s take a closer look.

What did Netanyahu say?

Speaking at the Netzarim Corridor in the Gaza Strip alongside Defence Minister Israel Katz on Tuesday, Israeli PM Netanyahu said his country had not given up trying to locate the 101 remaining hostages believed to be still in the Palestinian enclave.

He offered a $5 million reward for the return of a captive.

“To those who want to leave this entanglement I say: Whoever brings us a hostage will find a safe way for himself and his family. We will also give $5 million for every hostage,” he told Israeli troops.

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“Choose, the choice is yours, but the result will be the same. We will bring them all back.”

Netanyahu added that whoever harmed a hostage would “pay the price.”

The announcement comes at a time when Netanyahu’s office is under fire for reportedly leaking confidential papers to swap public opinion, suppress a common call for a ceasefire and promote the PM’s negotiating stances.

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What’s the current status of Hamas hostages?

In total, 251 people in Israel were kidnapped on October 7, 2023 , and 1,200 were killed when Hamas militants burst across the border and carried out a bloody attack on southern Israeli communities.

The majority of them abducted were civilians, although there were also security and military personnel. They were women, men, and children, citizens of Israel, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, Germany, Mexico, Thailand, and other nations.

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Israel launched a military offensive in the Gaza Strip after the attacks, which have killed nearly 44,000, Palestinians and displaced about two million people, according to local health authorities, who do not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

Of those abducted during the Hamas attack, a majority, 105, were freed during a temporary ceasefire in November last year, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. Eight were rescued by IDF operations, three were mistakenly shot dead by Israeli soldiers and six were killed by Hamas .

Ninety-seven people , including the bodies of at least 34 Israeli military-confirmed dead, are still in Gaza, according to the Israeli authorities. Hamas also holds two hostages, one taken in 2014 and the other in 2015, and the bodies of two slain Israeli soldiers. With the four included the tally rises to 101 people, 35 of whom are believed to be dead, reports NBC News.

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What is Hamas saying?

Hamas wants a deal that ends the war and sees the release of Israeli and foreign hostages held captive in Gaza as well as Palestinians jailed by Israel, while Netanyahu vowed the war can only end once Hamas is eradicated.

Hamas’ acting Gaza chief Khalil al-Hayya said in remarks broadcast on Wednesday that there would be no hostages-for-prisoners swap deal with Israel unless the war in the Palestinian enclave ended.

“Without an end to the war, there can be no prisoner swap,” Hayya said in a televised interview with the group’s Al-Aqsa television channel, reiterating the group’s position on how to bring the war to an end.

“If the aggression is not ended, why would the resistance and in particular Hamas, return the prisoners (hostages)?” he said. “How would a sane or an insane person lose a strong card he owns while the war is continuing?”

Efforts to negotiate a truce for Gaza have stalled, and the US on Wednesday vetoed a UN Security Council resolution calling for an unconditional permanent ceasefire.

Washington’s UN ambassador said the US would only support a resolution that explicitly calls for the immediate release of the Israeli hostages as part of a ceasefire.

Hayya, who led the group’s negotiating team in talks with Qatari and Egyptian mediators, blamed the lack of progress on Netanyahu, who in turn holds the Islamist group responsible for the stalled talks.

“There are contacts underway with some countries and mediators to revive this file (negotiation). We are ready to continue with those efforts, but it is more important to see a real will on the side of the occupation to end the aggression,” said Hayya.

“The reality proves that Netanyahu is the one who undermines it (negotiations),” he added.

Is Netanyahu trying to stall negotiations?

The prime minister has been accused by many Israelis, including the families of the captives, of putting their release effort last and extending the conflict to maintain his shaky ruling coalition.

According to The New York Times, his government, which includes members who are against a ceasefire, faces the threat of losing its position if Netanyahu agrees to a truce.

However, Netanyahu has refuted these claims.

Even his latest announcement was met with outrage from the mother of Matan Zangauker, one of the hostages still held in Gaza.

“The prime minister is trading the hostages’ lives,” Einav Zangauker told Reuters.

She criticised Netanyahu for “offering money to Hamas” and said his attempt to “divide and rule in Gaza through bribes to the captors” would put the hostages at risk.

“It’s unbelievable that the man who funded Hamas is once again offering money to Hamas,” she said, referring to a controversial deal in which Qatar sent millions of dollars to Gaza for years with Israel’s backing.

Netanyahu defended the initiative when it was launched in 2018, saying it was meant to return calm to Israeli villages in the south and prevent a humanitarian disaster in Gaza.

With inputs from agencies