It is believed that 129 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza. The IDF has confirmed the deaths of 34 of those still held by Hamas, citing intelligence and findings obtained by troops operating in Gaza.

However, the WSJ report says that “Israeli and American officials estimate privately that the number of deaths could be much higher.”

Some US estimates indicate that most of the hostages are already dead, US officials familiar with the intelligence tell the paper.