22 Americans have died in Israel, 17 remain unaccounted for: White House

As many as 22 Americans have lost their lives in Hamas' attack on Israel and 17 remain unaccounted for, the White House said Wednesday, and added that the figure is likely to increase in the coming days.

National Seccurity Advisor Jake Sullivan said more Americans could be among those taken held hostage by Palestinian militant group Hamas, adding that the US communicating with Israel on recovery of hostages.

“We know that, so far, 22 Americans lost their lives and 17 remain unaccounted for. We know that these numbers are likely to increase in the days ahead,” said John Kirby, Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council in the White House.

Earlier, the US government had confirmed the deaths of 14 Americans in the attack. This attack, Sullivan told reporters, has brought to the surface painful memories and the scars left by millennia of antisemitism and genocide of the Jewish people. “We have a little bit better sense today of how many more Americans are unaccounted for or missing. We know that a number of those Americans are being held hostage right now by Hamas. I think we all need to steel ourselves for the very distinct possibility that these numbers will keep increasing and that we may, in fact, find out that more Americans are part of the hostage pool,” he said.