‘Private Citizens’ in Gaza Are Holding Israeli Hostages, Parliament Member Says

Some of the Israeli hostages kidnapped by Hamas terrorists are being held captive by "private citizens" in the Gaza Strip, a member of Israel's parliament has alleged.

Knesset member Danny Danon claimed during a radio interview that "there was a large Gazan public that took part" in the Oct. 7 surprise attacks that sparked the ongoing war, according to the Maariv newspaper.

"It is not only there were Hamas terrorists, it was also the public that just came," he said Monday.

"Also in terms of the abductees, some of the abductees are in the hands of private citizens."

Danon, a former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations and the chairman of the right-wing World Likud party, said "I can't say that the entire public is involved" or detail "percentages," but added: "Look at the photos of the events."

"I usually stand behind what I say, and I say it clearly: the Gazan public took part in the murder, the massacre, the kidnapping, the rape, and even today in the hands of the Gazan public — not organizations — there are Israeli abductees," he said.

Israel has said at least 199 people are being held captive by Hamas, which has said the total number of hostages could be as high as 250.

It's believed they may include 13 Americans still unaccounted for since the Hamas attacks that killed more than 1,400 people, including 31 Americans.

Dannon's comments came in response to a Sunday statement posted on X, formerly Twitter, in which President Joe Biden said that "the overwhelming majority of Palestinians had nothing to do with Hamas’s appalling attacks, and are suffering as a result of them."

During a visit to Israel on Wednesday, Biden doubled down on that assertion.

"The vast majority of Palestinians are not Hamas. Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people," Biden said during a speech in Tel Aviv.