Authorities had initially estimated about 150 Israeli and foreign captives.

Military spokesman Richard Hecht also said that 286 Israeli soldiers had now been killed in military operations launched in response to the unprecedented Hamas attacks.

Israeli officials say the number of known captives had been revised down as bodies from the Hamas attack sites in southern Israel have been found and identified.

Hecht told a briefing that 126 captives had been "confirmed".

The figure was up from the 120 reported on Saturday, and officials cautioned the number was likely to keep changing in the coming days.

The military has also said its forces had found the bodies of some of the captives in raids into Gaza, without providing a number.

Hamas previously said that 22 captives were killed in Israeli strikes.