Israeli officials say 31 hostages dead as ceasefire negotiations continue

Israel’s chief military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said on Tuesday that 31 of the remaining hostages held in Gaza were pronounced dead.
“We have informed 31 families that their captured loved ones are no longer among the living and that we have pronounced them dead,” he told a regular media briefing.Israel previously said 136 hostages were still being held in Gaza after 110 were released during the only pause in fighting agreed so far in the current war against Hamas; that exchange happened in November, when Israel in turn released 240 Palestinians from Israeli prisons.
Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has been pushing for progress on a ceasefire-for-hostages deal .
Source: https://www.cbc.ca/