TEL AVIV: The Israel Defence Force (IDF) has claimed that as many as 203 Israeli citizens are being held hostage by the Hamas in Gaza.
This was informed by IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari on Thursday (October 19).
Hagari said that the families of the 203 hostages have been informed about the situation.
Moreover, the IDF also announced that 306 of its soldiers have died thus far since the start of the war with Hamas on October 7.
Meanwhile, the war between the Israeli forces and the Hamas continues to rage on with heavy losses of lives, especially Palestinians, in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas-run Gaza health ministry informed that over 3400 Palestinians have been killed and more than 12,000 injured in the past 11 days.
On the other hand, over 1400 people in Israel have been killed in the attacks by the Hamas.