Israel Interrogating Hundreds of Fighters Seized in Gaza

Israel has killed "thousands of terrorists" in Gaza and is interrogating hundreds more captured fighters from Hamas and other militant groups, Israel's defense minister said Saturday.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant offered the latest battlefield assessment to make the case that Israel is on course to succeed in its military goal of destroying Hamas in the Gaza Strip, where fighting resumed over the weekend following the end of a weeklong ceasefire.

"Hundreds of terrorists have been apprehended and are being interrogated in Israel," Gallant told reporters at a press briefing in Tel Aviv, according to an English translation of his remarks in Hebrew released by his office.

He did not offer details about the interrogations. Hamas led the Oct. 7 attack against Israel, but other factions also operate inside Gaza.

The interrogations of suspected Hamas members come as Israel faces continued questions about the cause of the intelligence and security failures that led to the attack. Hamas killed 1,200 people in Israel and abducted roughly 240 more on Oct. 7.

Israel responded with air strikes and a ground invasion of Gaza that has killed more than 15,200 people, according to health officials in Hamas-run Gaza cited by the Associated Press. The fighting has engulfed the region in the deadliest conflict in years and led the United States and other nations to call on Israel to limit the civilian death toll in Gaza.

Gallant did not specify how many Hamas fighters Israel has killed. The size of Hamas's fighting force in Gaza when it launched its attack is unclear. Analysts and former Israeli officials have estimated that Hamas had at least 25,000 fighters in Gaza at the time of its attack on Israel.

Israel's defense minister said Israel's pressure on Hamas on the battlefield helped force the group to agree to release dozens of Israeli and foreign hostages.

Hamas has released 110 hostages and Israel has also recovered the bodies of three others who were abducted, Gallant said. Hamas is refusing to release 15 women and two children, Gallant said, in what he said was a violation of the agreement the group reached with Israel that led to the pause in fighting.

Several Americans remain among the hostages being held in Gaza. On Saturday, a team of U.S. officials led by U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens met with Israeli officials in Israel on Saturday to discuss the hostage crisis. The visit came just two days after Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Israel to push for an extended ceasefire.

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