17 Americans missing
Seventeen Americans are missing, including an unknown number of Americans being held hostage by Hamas, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.
"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," Kirby said.
He said the conditions and whereabouts of the hostages are not known.
"We don't know where they are, we don’t know if they're all in one group, or broken up into several groups. We don't know if they're being moved, and with what frequency and to what locations. All of those questions we're working hard to answer," he said.
Pressed by ABC News if U.S. officials have seen any proof of life, Kirby said, "I am not aware of any specific proof of live on any individual hostage."
Asked if the U.S. has had any communication with Hamas, directly or through allies, Kirby said, "We're in discussions not only with the Israelis about what hostage recovery can look like, but with other allies and partners in the region. And there are some countries like Qatar that have open lines of communication with Hamas. So, of course, we're casting the net wide."
"We haven't made any policy options or operational decisions with respect to hostage recovery at this time," he said.
Kirby said there is no "specific evidence that Iran was directly involved with these specific sets of attacks" on Israel, but he added, "We are going to keep looking at it -- the book is not closed."
In recent days, the White House has consistently said there was no evidence pointing to Iran’s participation but said Iran was broadly complicit with their past funding and support for Hamas.
-ABC News' Mary Bruce
