What fate lies in store for the women and children taken hostage by Hamas? Israel faces race against time to save more than 100 captives set to be used as political pawns… if they survive
- Harrowing video footage shows how civilians were torn away by Hamas gunmen
- A Hamas statement later demanded ‘liberation of Palestinian prisoners in Israel’
- It suggests the hostages are likely to be dispersed and used as bargaining chips
Fears are growing over the fate of more than 100 people who were taken hostage in Israel by Hamas attackers and dragged across the border into Gaza as the Palestinian militant group launched its deadly surprise attack this Saturday.
Harrowing video footage and images showed how terrified women were torn away from their partners and driven away on motorcycles, while others were beaten and handcuffed before being stuffed into the back of pickup trucks.
The captives are known to include soldiers and civilians, including women, children and older adults, mostly Israelis but also some people of other nationalities.
Hamas has not yet released the exact number of hostages it had seized, but a spokesperson said they had captured more Israelis on Monday morning even as both sides are locked in bitter gunfights and are exchanging rocket attacks.
Counterterrorism expert and former member of the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) Aaron Cohen did not comment on the likely fate of the hostages, but warned that they are likely to be broken up and dispersed unless they are rescued quickly.
‘The longer Israel waits to be able to conduct those hostage rescues in Gaza, the longer the terrorists have to move around those hostages, which makes it more difficult for our Mossad and our Shin Bet security or intelligence agencies to find them,’ he said in an interview with Fox News.
‘The longer they wait, the more those hostages are going to get moved around.’
Meanwhile, a statement given to AP by Hamas spokesperson Abdel-Latif al-Qanoua suggested the hostages could be used as bargaining chips to push for the release of Palestinian political prisoners in Israel.
The Hamas spokesperson said the group wants to ‘liberate all Palestinian prisoners’ from Israel and end Israeli provocations in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem, particularly at Al-Aqsa Mosque – a site considered holy for both Palestinians and Israelis that has previously been at the centre of other lethal conflicts.
Images shared on social media appear to show an armed Hamas militant taking a bound and wounded Israeli woman hostage
Sitting on the back of a terrorist’s motorcycle, her outstretched arms pointing towards her helpless boyfriend, student Noa Argamani pleads for her life
Along with hundreds of other young Israelis, Noa (pictured) and Avi had been enjoying a peace festival in the desert when they were forced to flee for their lives
Israel must ‘work quickly’ to save hostages taken by Hamas to Gaza or risk losing them to Palestinian control, intelligence expert warns
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‘We are in an open battle to defend our people and the Al-Aqsa Mosque,’ the Hamas spokesperson said.
‘This battle is linked to the liberation of all Palestinian prisoners and the cessation of this fascist government’s activities in Jerusalem.’
He said the group has captured ‘a large number of Israelis’ in Gaza, without giving a specific figure.
He said Hamas’ military wing, al-Qassam, would announce the figures later, but added that even more hostages were taken this morning in the Israeli city of Sderot which lies less than a kilometre from Gaza.
The United Arab Emirates – a country which had historical tensions with Israel but established diplomatic relations in 2020, said it was ‘appalled’ that Israeli civilians were taken hostage in the Hamas assault.
‘The (foreign) ministry stressed that attacks by Hamas against Israeli towns and villages near the Gaza Strip, including the firing of thousands of rockets at population centres, are a serious and grave escalation,’ said the statement late on Sunday.
‘The ministry is appalled by reports that Israeli civilians have been abducted as hostages from their homes.’
The statement is notably less neutral than the initial UAE reaction on Saturday, which simply ‘expressed great concern regarding the escalation of violence between Israelis and Palestinians’.
‘The UAE expressed its condolences to the families of the victims and urges all diplomatic efforts to prevent a wider regional confrontation,’ the latest statement said, warning against ‘nihilistic destruction’.
Israeli police officers evacuate a family from a site hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, in Ashkelon, southern Israel, Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023
Israeli airstrikes on Islamic National Bank of Gaza destroy buildings and neighborhoods at Rimal district of Gaza City, Gaza on October 08, 2023
Palestinians inspect damages in the aftermath of Israeli strikes, following a Hamas surprise attack, at Beach refugee camp, in Gaza City, October 9, 2023
A man stands among the rubble of a destroyed mosque during Israeli air strikes, in Gaza City
Now, Israel’s military is scouring the country’s south for Hamas fighters and guarding breaches in its border fence with tanks on Monday, as it pounded the Gaza Strip from the air and mustered for a campaign its prime minister said would destroy ‘the military and governing capabilities’ of the militant group.
More than two days after Hamas launched its unprecedented incursion from Gaza, the military said the fighting had largely died down for now. But Israel formally declared war on Sunday and a possible ground assault into Gaza – a move that would likely see attempts to rescue hostages, but in the past has brought intensified casualties.
Civilians are already paying a high price. Around 700 people have been killed in Israel – a staggering toll by the scale of its recent conflicts.
Nearly 500 have been killed in Gaza, a tiny, impoverished enclave of 2.3 million Palestinians bordering Israel and Egypt.
Now, Israeli tanks and drones, meanwhile, guarded openings in the border fence to prevent more infiltrations, military officials said, adding that 15 of 24 border communities have been evacuated, with the rest expected to be evacuated in over the next 24 hours.
Once the communities are evacuated, it’s likely that Israel will step up offensive military operations in the region.
‘Our task is to make sure that Hamas will no longer have any military capabilities to threaten Israel with this,’ said spokesperson Jonathan Conricus in a video tweeted by Israel’s military.
‘And in addition to that, we will make sure that Hamas is no longer able to govern the Gaza Strip.’
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