Netanyahu lights candle in memory of war victims

Twenty hostages are thought to be alive and will be returned to Israel on Monday.

By JNS

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday visited the memorial wall at the National Library of Israel in Jerusalem and lit a candle in memory of the murdered and fallen soldiers of the war.

The death toll among Israeli troops in the Gaza Strip since the start of the ground incursion on Oct. 27, 2023, now stands at 468, and at 915 on all fronts since the Hamas-led massacre on Oct. 7, 2023.

Twenty hostages are thought to be alive and will be returned to Israel on Monday.

For most of them, signs of life have been received—videos from Hamas or messages from captivity survivors who were released in the last deal in January-February 2025.

Israel’s Ministry of Religious Services is prepared to receive the remains of “between one and 28” slain hostages as part of the agreement with Hamas in Gaza, Director-General Yehudah Avidan said on Sunday.

Despite expectations, no one yet knows how many hostages’ bodies will be handed over by the terrorist group, Avidan said.