Can Hamas locate remaining hostages in mayhem of Gaza war?

GAZA, Nov 29 (Reuters) – Ever since it seized more than 200 people in the deadly rampage through southern Israel that triggered the Gaza war, Hamas has hoped to use hostages as bargaining cards with Israel in order to win freedom for Palestinians in Israeli jails.

But as mediators try to secure extensions to a truce between Israel and Hamas to enable more hostage releases, the Palestinian militant group may struggle to locate more captives in the chaos of the conflict, Palestinian and Egyptian security sources familiar with the talks said.

While Hamas planned and launched the Oct. 7 attack, other militants quickly joined in, pouring into Israel and seizing more people. Hamas says it is working to locate them in a Gaza Strip shattered by weeks of Israeli bombardment.

Hamas may also be holding back information, the sources said. Mediator Egypt believes Hamas is concealing some of what it knows, and saying it needs to do so for security reasons and as a negotiating strategy, Egyptian security sources said.

TUNNEL NETWORK

Hamas has said the hostages were…