Foreign observers reported that some members of Jewish families were taken hostage, apparently to ensure that those forced to leave did not speak out against the Egyptian government.[citation needed] Some 23,000—25,000 Jews out of 60,000 in Egypt left,[11] mainly for Israel, Europe, the United States and South America.[citation needed] Many were forced to sign declarations that they were voluntarily emigrating and agreed to the confiscation of their assets. Similar measures were enacted against British and French nationals in retaliation for the invasion. By 1957 the Jewish population of Egypt had fallen to 15,000.[citation needed]