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Israeli Military: Confirmed Number of Gaza Hostages Rises to 224

A dinner table is set with empty chairs that symbolically represent hostages and missing people waiting to come home, following a deadly infiltration of Israel by Hamas gunmen from the Gaza Strip, in Brussels, Belgium October 25, 2023. REUTERS/Johanna Geron
A dinner table is set with empty chairs that symbolically represent hostages and missing people waiting to come home, following a deadly infiltration of Israel by Hamas gunmen from the Gaza Strip, in Brussels, Belgium October 25, 2023. REUTERS/Johanna Geron
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Israeli Military: Confirmed Number of Gaza Hostages Rises to 224

A dinner table is set with empty chairs that symbolically represent hostages and missing people waiting to come home, following a deadly infiltration of Israel by Hamas gunmen from the Gaza Strip, in Brussels, Belgium October 25, 2023. REUTERS/Johanna Geron
A dinner table is set with empty chairs that symbolically represent hostages and missing people waiting to come home, following a deadly infiltration of Israel by Hamas gunmen from the Gaza Strip, in Brussels, Belgium October 25, 2023. REUTERS/Johanna Geron

The Israeli military said on Thursday that the number of people confirmed held hostage in the Gaza Strip since the Oct 7 cross-border raids by Hamas had reached 224, and could rise further.

Foreigners are among those captured by Hamas.

Four hostages have been released.

US President Joe Biden and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday discussed "ongoing efforts to locate and secure the release" of Americans believed held hostage in Gaza, the White House said.

Biden also stressed to Netanyahu the "importance of focusing on what comes after this crisis to include a pathway for a permanent peace between Israelis and Palestinians," the White House said.

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Arab World

Netanyahu: Cabinet Won't Meet Over Ceasefire Until Hamas Drops New Demands

People check the rubble of buildings hit in Israeli strikes the previous night in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip, on January 16, 2025, following a truce announcement amid the war between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
People check the rubble of buildings hit in Israeli strikes the previous night in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip, on January 16, 2025, following a truce announcement amid the war between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
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Netanyahu: Cabinet Won't Meet Over Ceasefire Until Hamas Drops New Demands

People check the rubble of buildings hit in Israeli strikes the previous night in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip, on January 16, 2025, following a truce announcement amid the war between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
People check the rubble of buildings hit in Israeli strikes the previous night in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip, on January 16, 2025, following a truce announcement amid the war between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Thursday his Cabinet won’t meet to approve the agreement for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of dozens of hostages until Hamas backs down from what it called a “last minute crisis.”
Netanyahu’s office accused Hamas of reneging on parts of the agreement in an attempt “to extort last minute concessions.” It did not elaborate.
The Israeli Cabinet was set to ratify the deal Thursday.
Meanwhile, Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip have killed at least 48 people over the past day. In previous conflicts, both sides have stepped up military operations in the final hours before ceasefires go into effect as a way to project strength.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said the 48 bodies of people killed since midday Wednesday were brought to several hospitals.