By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Israeli government says at least two Tanzanians and a South African are among the 224 hostages being held by Hamas, following the war sparked by the 7 October attacks in Israel by Hamas.
According to Tanzanian ambassador to Israel, two of its citizens have been taken hostage but the three Africans have not been named.
The BBC has spoken to the father of one Tanzanian who has been reported missing in Israel –
Joshua Mollel, father of one Tanzanian, an agriculture student who has been reported missing in Israel told BBC on Thursday he had not received any update on the fate of his son.
Earlier in the week, he said they had not spoken since 5 October – two days before the attack – and that the whole family were sick with worry, BBC report says.
“We can’t eat or sleep – when I go to the market people ask me why I’m losing so much weight,” he said on Sunday.
The South African authorities have not commented on the report that one of its citizens is among the hostages.
Foreigners from 25 countries in all are being held by Hamas, Israel says.
They make up 135 of the 224 being held – the largest number, 54, are from Thailand.
They were taken when militants from Hamas, a group which Israel, the UK, US and other powers classify as a terrorist organisation – crossed into Israel from Gaza killing at least 1,400 people.
Israel has since retaliated with air strikes on Gaza, which the Hamas-run health ministry says have killed almost 6,500 people.
