Around two-thirds of the 98 hostages left in Gaza are thought to be alive, according to figures published by the Sunday Times.

The paper has been tracking the status of the 255 confirmed hostages snatched by Hamas in its terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, which claimed the lives of 1,200 people.

It has reported that 64 are believed to still be alive, while 34 bodies are being kept in Gaza.

During a truce last November, 112 hostages were released, while the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) have managed to rescue an additional eight since they entered Gaz.

After extensive forensic investigations and intelligence work, a clearer picture has emerged regarding the fate of those who went missing since October 7.

So far 37 bodies of those either who were killed on the day of the attack or subsequently while being held in Gaza have been retrieved.

The latest recovery occurred in August when the bodies of six hostages murdered by their captors were found in a tunnel in Rafah. The individuals identified were Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi, and Master Sgt. Ori Danino.

Three hostages were mistakenly killed by the IDF during a rescue attempt, and another three are believed to have died in Israeli airstrikes, according to IDF reports.

Sixty-five individuals remain unaccounted for, with many presumed to have been taken hostage as they have been missing since the attack.

Kfir Bibas, who was just nine months old on October 7, is the youngest of those hostages. He was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz alongside his mother Shiri, father Yarden, and four-year-old brother, Ariel. On November 29, Hamas claimed that Shiri and her sons were killed in an Israeli airstrike, a claim that has yet to be verified. The IDF is actively working to determine their fate.

The oldest hostage, Shlomo Mansour, 86, who is a survivor of the Farhud massacre in Iraq in 1941, has not been seen since October 7 and is believed to still be held in Gaza.

Emily Damari is thought to be the only British hostage still alive. She was taken from Kfar Aza on October 7, along with the Berman twins Ziv and Gali who had come to her house after she texted them about the approaching Hamas militants. She was reported alive by previously released hostages and is believed to remain in captivity.