Israel says that 133 hostages are nonetheless in captivity, starting from toddlers to the aged, and that 36 of these hostages are confirmed dead.
But the fates of about 100 hostages — together with Israelis and international nationals, peace activists and troopers, moms and grandfathers — are nonetheless unclear, six months after the beginning of the struggle. The uncertainty isn’t solely complicating negotiations but additionally leaving the hostages’ households in anguish.
The ache of every passing day “is almost exponential,” mentioned Jon Polin, father of 23-year-old Hersh Goldberg-Polin, a twin Israeli-American citizen who was kidnapped from an out of doors music competition on Oct. 7.
In ugly footage posted by his captors, Goldberg-Polin is proven packed into the again of a truck, his arm blown off by a grenade. Maybe he was handled, Polin and his spouse, Rachel Goldberg, hoped. “We remain optimistic because we have no choice,” he mentioned.
On that day, Hamas and allied militants killed round 1,200 folks in Israel and kidnapped 253 others, dragging them again to Gaza and kicking off a devastating struggle. Since then, 124 hostages have been both freed or launched, together with throughout a four-day pause in November, however none of those that returned house mentioned that they noticed Goldberg-Polin in captivity.
In Gaza, of their seek for hostages, Israeli forces have raided hospitals, dug up gravesites, and scoured tunnels utilized by Hamas to evade seize and conceal from Israeli bombs. They say they discovered bins of drugs meant for the captives, DNA proof inside a tunnel, and safety digital camera footage exhibiting hostage Shiri Bibas and one in all her two younger sons after she arrived in Khan Younis on Oct. 7.
In February, Israeli commandos freed two hostages in Rafah in southern Gaza in a rescue operation that killed no less than 67 Palestinians. Earlier this week, Israeli troops recovered the physique of Elad Katzir, 47, a farmer the army mentioned was buried by his captors south of Khan Younis.
But, for the households of the hostages, extra is unknown than recognized. Refael Franco, former deputy head of Israel’s National Cyber Directorate who ran hostage monitoring within the early days of the struggle, mentioned that as Israel’s intelligence dries up, it’s having bother estimating the place the hostages are. Because of this, he mentioned, Israel is anxious about miscalculating what number of are dead.
None of the hostages have been seen by the International Committee of the Red Cross, and Israeli authorities are beginning to hedge, saying that dozens are dead and dozens are alive, however not a lot else.
Still, Israeli officers signaled this week {that a} launch deal could be within the offing.
“We are ready to pay a price in order to return the hostages,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant mentioned Monday, calling their return the military’s “highest commitment.” Also Monday, Foreign Minister Israel Katz mentioned that negotiations had reached a “critical point.”
The optimism got here as talks had been underway in Cairo on Sunday and Monday, mediated by Egypt, Qatar and the United States. President Biden ramped up the stress on each side final week to safe a deal.
The aim extra broadly is to attain an accord that may halt the combating, free the hostages and a few Palestinian prisoners, whereas rising support to Gaza, which is on the point of famine. At least 33,482 folks, largely ladies and kids, have been killed in Gaza because the battle started, in accordance to the Gaza Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between combatants and civilians.
But whereas Israel needs the hostages launched, it is usually in search of to topple Hamas and sees an open-ended troop presence in Gaza as the best way to preserve the militants from regrouping. For its half, Hamas needs Israel to free lots of of Palestinian prisoners, permit displaced residents to return to northern Gaza, together with its personal members, after which withdraw fully from the enclave.
On Tuesday, Hamas mentioned it was finding out the newest proposal however referred to as the phrases “nothing new.” The group has not mentioned publicly what number of hostages are alive and didn’t reply to request for remark.
Biden, talking to reporters on Wednesday, mentioned the United States was “still negotiating” a deal.
For Sharone Lifschitz, whose 83-year-old father, Oded, stays in Gaza, the lack of awareness concerning the hostages is especially jarring, given the sheer quantity of footage emanating from the unique assault. On Oct. 7, Hamas and different fighters live-streamed the atrocities and flooded their social media channels with footage of the carnage. In some circumstances, the gunmen hijacked the victims’ social media accounts and despatched pictures of the dead or kidnapped victims to their kinfolk.
“We’re in this roller coaster of emotion that I never knew existed,” Lifschitz mentioned.
Her mom, Yocheved, was one of many first hostages launched by Hamas in late October. Yocheved and Oded, each peace activists, had been taken from kibbutz Nir Oz, lower than two miles from the Gaza border.
Also kidnapped from Nir Oz was Shiri Bibas, 32, her husband, Yarden, 33, and their two younger sons, Ariel, 4, and Kfir, then 9 months previous. Bibas was filmed on Oct. 7, terrified and clutching her kids as gunmen compelled them into captivity. The militants additionally recorded Yarden’s abduction and later launched a video during which he was compelled to say that his spouse and sons had been killed in an Israeli airstrike.
Israel has not confirmed their deaths however has advised the household that they are “very concerned” about their well-being.
“The heartbreak and anxiety is unbearable already,” mentioned Ifat Zeiller, a cousin of Shiri Bibas. After six months, she mentioned, our “message to the world has changed from ‘listen to us’ to … ‘don’t forget us.’”
Ofri Bibas-Levy is Yarden Bibas’s sister. At a rally in Jerusalem on Sunday, she lamented that Kfir, the youngest hostage, wouldn’t be with the household for the upcoming Passover vacation.
“What can I tell my children, all of our children, about what has changed since October 7?” she mentioned. “There is no security, no trust — 133 hostages are still in hell.”
