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The Israel Defense Forces have told US officials that more American hostages — in addition to Judith Tai Raanan and Natalie Raanan, who were released on Friday — are alive and being held by Hamas in Gaza, a US official said.
The belief that there are more American hostages alive in Gaza is a major reason Biden administration officials are advising Israel to delay a ground incursion into Gaza, the official said. Still, they cautioned, there’s “no effort here to run intervention on military planning.” There are believed to be fewer than 10 American hostages held in Gaza.
“There’s definitely a feeling that Hamas is trading hostages for time. The further removed we get from October 7th, the more international perception shifts from outrage/horror to calls to be rational,” another US official told CNN.
The Raanans are still in Israel after their release, and are expected to go through a debriefing process with US officials, which is a typical part of the decompression process after an American hostage is freed.
