“More than 100 prisoners” are in the hands of the terrorist movement, according to the Israeli government report published on Sunday. Hamas and Islamic Jihad said they were holding at least 130 people captive.
Images of captured civilians and soldiers circulated endlessly on social networks and Israeli media. After launching a deadly offensive from the Gaza Strip on Saturday, October 7, the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas claims to be holding 100 hostages, while around thirty others are believed to be in the hands of Islamic Jihad. The Israeli government, for its part, complained on Sunday that there were “more than 100 prisoners” among its nationals.
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At least 130 Israelis have been captured, Hamas and Islamic Jihad say
Commandos from the Al-Qassam Brigade, Hamas’ armed wing, infiltrated numerous Israeli villages around the Gaza Strip on Saturday. Many were killed in ground fighting and numerous Israeli soldiers and civilians were captured. The Israeli government announced on Sunday in an infographic posted on its press office’s Facebook account that “more than 100 prisoners” were being held by the Palestinian Islamist movement.
On the night of Sunday to Monday, Moussa Abou Marzouk, a Hamas official, confirmed this figure of around a hundred captured Israelis in an interview with the Arabic news channel al-Ghad TV carried by CNN. Another Palestinian armed group, Islamic Jihad, said it was holding at least 30 more hostages in Gaza. These kidnappings of Israelis by terrorist organizations are “unprecedented” in the country’s history, an Israel Defense Forces spokesman admitted to CNN.
In videos circulating on social media, captured women, children and elderly people were identified by their families. Yifat Zailer, a 37-year-old Israeli, confessed her terror to AFP: in a short video, she recognized several members of her family among the people who were kidnapped and forcibly taken to Gaza. They include his cousin and her children, ages nine months and three years, as well as his uncle and aunt. “My aunt is very sick, she needs her medication,” she then wrote on her Facebook account.
According to Libération, half of the civilian hostages were festival-goers attending the “Tribe of Nova” techno gathering held in the desert half an hour from the Gaza-Israel border. The toll on the participants of this party was very high: 250 bodies were found at the site and many people were missing, including Shani Louk. This 22-year-old woman of German-Israeli nationality was captured by Hamas. She was identified by her mother in a particularly violent video posted on social networks. “We were sent a video in which I can clearly see our daughter sitting unconscious (…) in a car while Palestinians drive her to the Gaza Strip,” the young woman’s mother told the BBC.
Seven French people are missing, hostages of different nationalities
While a French woman was killed on Israeli territory, seven French nationals remained missing on Monday, Radio France’s Jerusalem correspondent learned from a diplomatic source. The Foreign Ministry on Sunday attempted to “clarify the situation of several nationals who could not be located.” A 26-year-old French-Israeli may have been kidnapped by Hamas in southern Israel on Saturday morning, said MP Meyer Habib, elected in the constituency of French people living abroad, including Israel. French-Israeli Céline Ben-David Nagar, who attended the Tribe of Nova festival, was nowhere to be found on Monday morning. When questioned by BFM, her brother assured that, despite all the research, he had “no news” about his sister. “If [Céline] is in the hands of Hamas, tell us,” he testified.
When Israeli authorities did not reveal the identities and nationalities of the Hamas hostages, several foreign countries announced that they also had nationals among the hostages. Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Michael Herzog, said Sunday that American citizens were among those abducted, without specifying their number. Two Mexicans are “suspected” hostages, the Mexican foreign minister said on Sunday.
German authorities also said that several of their nationals – all of whom also had Israeli citizenship – had been kidnapped by Hamas. The Israeli embassy in the UK told Sky News that a 26-year-old British festival-goer had disappeared.
The fate of the hostages is crucial to the continuation of the conflict
Interviewed on Franceinfo, General Jérôme Pellistrandi explains that these hostages constitute “a kind of human shield” for Hamas. According to him, the Israeli army is in an “almost insoluble” situation at the military level, as a massive attack on the Gaza Strip would endanger the hostages held there. The latest bombings have already “resulted in the deaths of four enemy prisoners,” said the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ armed wing.
For Israel, the most important thing is to “locate” the prisoners before “finding a negotiated solution,” recommends General Jérôme Pellistrandi. These hostages could actually serve as a valuable bargaining chip for Hamas in potential negotiations, as the terror group has said it is willing to exchange them for thousands of Palestinians imprisoned in Israel. Hamas leader Ismaïl Haniyeh said on Saturday that the goal of Operation Flood of Al-Aqsa was liberation.[leur] land, their holy places, [leur mosquée] Al-Aqsa and [leurs] Prisoners.”
The possibility of an Israeli ground military intervention to free these hostages seems very hypothetical. “The liberation of the hostages in Gaza is something extremely difficult,” says General Dominique Trinquand on franceinfo. For the former head of the French military mission to the United Nations, the Islamist movement will exploit these hostages to “prolong the war”.
The international community is calling for their release
The rise in violence surrounding the Hamas attack has been condemned by many governments around the world. The head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, also condemned the taking of civilians hostage and called for their release. “The news that civilians are being held hostage at home or in Gaza is appalling. This violates international law. The hostages must be released immediately,” he said.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also expressed her “solidarity with the families of the victims, hostages and injured” in a conversation with her Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu. The United Arab Emirates said it was “dismayed” by the capture of civilians.
France also spoke out on Sunday: “The heinous taking of men, women and children hostage by Hamas is a reminder, if necessary, of the terrorist nature of this movement. “France demands their immediate and unconditional release,” wrote the Quai d “Orsay.