GMTA. I was thinking the same thing too.
What better way to get someone to stop looking for someone else than to claim they are dead.
Keep going until YOU are sure.
NEVER take the word of your enemy.
I’m sure Israel is well aware of this tactic.
New York Post had an excellent editorial yesterday titled Hostage-Release Lessons. God bless them. They are the only ones I have seen covering this war from the right point of view.