TEL AVIV, October 27. /TASS/. The number of hostages held in the Gaza Strip is at least 229, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Spokesman Daniel Hagari said at a briefing.

The IDF "has information about 229 hostages held in the Gaza Strip, the families of the kidnapped have been informed," he said.

Hagari pointed out that the fate of the missing and abducted is communicated to their families and only then is it made public. "The confirmation of information is related to new information, operational activities carried out by the military, some of which include searching for foreigners who are outside of Israel," he explained. "The Israeli army continues to make every effort to enable the abductees to return home, and considers this a top priority," he pointed out.

Hagari reported that since October 7, "310 Israeli soldiers have been killed."

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 when militants from the radical Palestinian Hamas movement staged a surprise attack on Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip. Hamas described its attack as a response to the aggressive actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem. Israel has announced a total blockade of the Gaza Strip as it has been delivering rocket attacks on Gaza as well as some districts in Lebanon and Syria. Clashes are underway in the West Bank of the Jordan River as well.

According to the latest official data from the Gaza Health Ministry, more than 7,000 Palestinians have been killed since the renewed outbreak of violence, while over 18,500 others have suffered wounds. In Israel, over 1,400 people have lost their lives and roughly 5,200 have been wounded in clashes, including on the West Bank of the Jordan River.