60 hostages presumed alive, no certainty about the fate of the Franco-Israelis… What we know about the 94 people still held by Hamas

Recap
The ceasefire, which ends 15 months of war in the Gaza Strip, provides for three phases including the release of Israeli hostages. As of January 15, 94 people remained in captivity, including 60 presumed alive.

The ceasefire agreement, reached on Wednesday January 15 between Israel and Hamas, provides in a first phase for the release of 33 living hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. The other living hostages must be released in a hypothetical second phase, before the repatriation of the remains of the dead hostages in a third phase, indicated US President Joe Biden.

Also read

Under the agreement, the Jewish state undertook, according to the Israeli daily “Times of Israel”, to release 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, excluding, however, any participants in the October 7 attack. “Le Nouvel Obs” takes stock.

• 48 men, 10 women and 2 children still captive

On October 7, 2023, during an unprecedented Hamas attack on southern Israel, the commandos of the Palestinian Islamist movement took 251 people and remains to Gaza.

Of this total, 117 people, mainly women, children and foreign workers, found their freedom, mainly during the only truce in the conflict, which lasted a week at the end of November 2023. Forty bodies were also repatriated, including the last, those of Youssef al-Zayadna, 53 years old, and his son Hamza, 22 years old, two Bedouins kidnapped from kibbutz Holit where they were participating in the harvest of olives.

Also read

As of January 15, 94 people remained in captivity, including 60 presumed alive, with 34 declared dead by the Israeli military. Among the hostages still believed to be alive, 53 are Israelis, including at least 22 dual nationals, six Thais and one Nepalese.

Among them, 48 are men and 10 women, including five soldiers. Adding the men, ten soldiers presumed alive are still captive. Two children, brothers Kfir and Ariel, kidnapped at eight months and four years respectively, remain presumed alive, as do their parents, Shiri and Yarden Bibas.

• Only seven hostages released since the 2023 truce

Since the end of the truce on December 1, 2023, only seven 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 all the 60 hostages presumed alive are still alive.

Hamas and its ally Islamic Jihad have regularly announced hostage deaths, which Israel has not confirmed, notably those of the Bibas children and their mother. Among the rare proof of life, videos recently published by Hamas and Islamic Jihad of the hostages Matan Zangauker (25 years old), Edan Alexander (20 years old), Sacha Trupanov (29 years old) and Liri Albag (19 years old).

Also read

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 11 soldiers. At least 30 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 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 tunnel in Rafah (south of the Gaza Strip).

• “No certainty” about the fate of the two Franco-Israeli hostages

The head of French diplomacy Jean-Noël Barrot indicated this Thursday, January 16 on RTL that there was no “no certainty” on the fate of the two Franco-Israeli hostages still detained in the Gaza Strip, Ofer Kalderon and Ohad Yahalomi.

Also read

“For too many months, we have not heard from them (…) We sincerely hope that they can return to us alive and in good health”declared Jean-Noël Barrot, while a truce providing for the release of hostages must come into force on Sunday between Israel and Palestinian Hamas.

During the Hamas attack in Israel on October 7, 2023, “48 of our compatriots lost their lives, eight were taken hostage, two of them unfortunately died, four returned to us, including the children of Ofer and Ohad, and It is now these two hostages whose return we await”recalled Jean-Noël Barrot. “We have no certainties, no news” about their fate, “except the testimonies of those who returned from the hell of Gaza”he said.

• A return system in place in Israel

Although the list of released hostages is not yet official, Israel is already preparing for their return: Wednesday evening, the IDF unveiled the first outlines of its reception system, called “the wings of freedom”.

The army will deploy two special centers in Réïm and Kerem Shalom, near the Gaza Strip, to accommodate the first liberated people, indicates “le Parisien”. The International Committee of the Red Cross said it was ready to facilitate their release. “This nightmare has lasted too long. The suffering must end. Civilians in Gaza need protection and humanitarian aid. The hostages must return home”declared its president Mirjana Spoljaric.

The hostages will then be sent to different Israeli hospitals, depending on the severity of their possible injuries and their psychological state. They will be followed by doctors specializing in post-traumatic stress disorders.