The Israeli military has declared dead a number of hostages kidnapped by the militant Palestinian organization Hamas and their allies, and has informed the hostages’ families. “We have notified thirty-one families that their loved ones who are hostages are no longer alive and we have confirmed their deaths,” Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Daniel Hagari said in a Tuesday briefing. “To the rest of the families, we have provided all the verified information available to us about their fate and condition. We continue to operate in order to create the conditions to bring all the hostages hom…