After a year of captivity in the Gaza Strip, the fate of the 64 hostages presumed alive, Hamas’ main bargaining chip to obtain a ceasefire and the release of Palestinian prisoners, is uncertain. Hope is dimmed by the litany of confirmed deaths and repatriated bodies.
Imago
On October 7, 2023, during the Hamas attack in southern Israel, the commandos of the Palestinian Islamist movement took 251 people or captured remains to Gaza. Of this total, 117 people, mainly women, children and foreign workers, regained their freedom, mainly during the only truce in the conflict, which lasted a week at the end of November.
As of October 3, almost a year after the Hamas attack and the start of the war in the Palestinian territory, 97 people are still held captive there, including 64 presumed alive, 33 having been declared dead by the Israeli army.
Among the hostages still believed to be alive, 57 are Israelis, including at least 20 dual nationals, six Thais and one Nepalese. Among them, 52 are men and 10 women, including five soldiers. A total of eleven soldiers remain captive.
Two children, brothers Kfir and Ariel Bibas, kidnapped at eight months and four years respectively, remain presumed alive, as well as their parents Shiri and Yarden Bibas.
litany of the dead
Since the end of the truce on December 1, 2023, only seven other hostages have found freedom, during rescue operations by the Israeli army. The latest is Kaid Farhan Alkadi, released on August 27 in the south of the Gaza Strip.
In the absence of proof of life, it is not certain that the 64 hostages presumed alive are still alive. Hamas announced on August 12 that its fighters had “killed a hostage” and “wounded two female hostages” in “incidents”, without naming them.
Previously, the movement had announced several times the deaths of hostages, which Israel has not confirmed, notably those of Kfir Bibas (one year old), his older brother Ariel (five years old) and their mother.
Many bodies taken to Gaza
Some of the deceased hostages were already dead when they were taken to Gaza on October 7, 2023, killed during the Hamas attack. This is particularly the case for ten soldiers.
At least 28 other hostages captured alive have died in Gaza. Three of them – Yotam Haïm (28 years old), Samer al-Talalqa (25 years old) and Alon Lulu Shamriz (26 years old) – were shot dead by mistake by the Israeli army on December 15, 2023.
The Israeli army accuses Hamas of having coldly executed six others at the end of August: Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi and Ori Danino, found dead by soldiers in a Rafah tunnel (southern Gaza Strip).
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