IT IS ALMOST a week since the conflict between Israel and Hamas began in and around the Gaza Strip.
Events there have been fast-moving since militants broke through a fortified barrier at the border of the enclave last Saturday morning, before 1,300 people in Israel were killed in an event since dubbed the country’s 9/11.
Among the first things to happen in the conflict was the abduction of an estimated 150 Israeli, foreign and dual-national hostages by Hamas.
The situation is complicating plans for a potential ground offensive by Israel into Gaza; Hamas says it will continue to kill one hostage every time Israel bombs a civilian target in Gaza without warning, and it isn’t known where the hostages are being held.
What is known is that hostages have been taken to Gaza, where at least 13 of them have already been killed in Israeli air strikes.
Israel has cut off water, food and power supplies to Gaza in a total siege it has vowed will continue until all hostages are freed.
Here’s everything we know about the situation as it stands.
Early on Saturday morning, Hamas carried out a surprise rocket barrage on southern Israel and a ground, air and sea offensive.
Using motorbikes, trucks, motorised para-gliders and speed boats, the group’s militants streamed into Israeli urban areas near the border with Gaza – the first incursion into Israeli territory by a foreign group since the country declared independence 75 years ago.
More than a thousand militants shot dead hundreds of people and captured at least 100 hostages, with videos shared on social media as the conflict was unfolding showing some of those being taken back to Gaza and paraded by Hamas.
An Israeli army spokesman confirmed that both Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) soldiers and civilians had been kidnapped, and that those who had been taken included women, children and older people.
The majority of those who have been taken are Israelis, but hostages also include Americans and Germans, and are believed to also include Britons, Thais, Mexicans, and Brazilians.
The stories of some hostages have been compiled and published by the BBC. It reports that those taken include 13 children and at least eight people over the age of 60.
Images and videos circulated on social media early on Saturday after the attacks began, which showed some of those being taken.
They included Shani Louk, a German woman, who was abducted from the Supernova music festival where more than 250 people were killed on Saturday morning (including Irish-Israeli citizen Kim Damti).
One of the first viral videos of the conflict on Saturday appeared to show Shani being paraded on the back of a truck by Hamas militants, with claims that she had been killed. It emerged this week that Shani is still alive, but in a critical condition in Gaza.
Another viral video showed Shiri Bibas holding her two red-haired children, 3-year-old Ariel and 9-month-old Kfir, close to her as she was surrounded by militants in the kibbutz where she lived. All three were taken alongside Shiri’s husband Yarden.
Yaffa Adar, an 85-year-old woman, was also filmed being driven in a golf cart by a group of armed militants while she was taken away. She’s among five hostages over the age of 80 who were identified by the BBC.
There have also been claims – including by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken – that those taken include a Holocaust survivor who uses a wheelchair; another video from last weekend appeared to show a wheelchair user being taken.
The whereabouts of all of the hostages remains unknown and is difficult to ascertain.
Hamas says those who have been captured have been places in “safe places and tunnels” in Gaza; there are hundreds of tunnels beneath the blockaded enclave, some believed to be as deep as 30m, which have been used to smuggle in goods, fuel and weapons.
The group also says hostages will be killed if Israel continues to attack civilian targets with no warning.
On top of the killing of civilians, the taking of hostages by Hamas has been roundly condemned by international leaders.
The abduction of civilians is prohibited under international law and considered a war crime.
Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus of the IDF said this week that it is an “unprecedented” moment in Israel’s history to have “so many Israeli nationals in the hands of a terrorist organisation”.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, who this week called for a proportionate response to Hamas by Israel, was at the same time critical of the hostage situation and said Israel is justified to retaliate against the group.
“Hamas should release all of the hostages immediately. Israeli citizens and dual citizens alike. Israel is entirely justified in going after Hamas in Gaza and elsewhere,” he said on RTÉ’s Prime Time programme on Thursday night.
US President Joe Biden, who has said he is working to try and secure the release of American hostages, likened the use of captives and the citizens of Gaza to “human shields”.
The situation is also creating fear and uncertainty for families who still don’t know the fate of their loved ones.
Thomas Hand, the father of an eight-year-old girl who died following the Hamas attacks on Beeri Kibbutz, told CNN this week that it was a “blessing” his daughter had died rather than being captured and taken into Gaza, something he called “worse than death”.
Hamas does claim to have released some of those captured – though this has been disputed.
On Wednesday, it claimed to have freed an Israeli woman and her two children it said had been detained, but Israeli television networks rejected the announcement.
Islamic Jihad, another Palestinian militant group, also claims to be holding 30 hostages.
For its part, Israel has said it will not end its siege of Gaza until all of its hostages are freed. As well as facing bombardments, its citizens are also dealing with limited electricity, access to safe drinking water and availability of medical supplies.
Fuel, food and water are running low in Gaza because of the Israeli strikes and siege, prompting calls for immediate humanitarian aid to be sent.
However, efforts to negotiate the possible release of hostages is an incredibly tricky process.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said this week that he would look to Arab countries for assistance to “use their leverage with Hamas to immediately and unconditionally release the hostages”.
The International Committee of the Red Cross has also said it is in contact with Hamas and Israel to try to facilitate the release of the hostages.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has likewise launched a negotiation process with Hamas to release abductees and says he is willing to act as an intermediary.
However, Hamas has ruled out negotiating a prisoner swap with Israel while the military operation continues.
It is not known what Hamas’ intentions for the hostages are – beyond trying to stop Israeli strikes – but as time goes on, it will be more difficult to hold them.
Rachel Briggs, a former director of Hostage US, a group that supports families who have been taken hostage, told The News Agents podcast this week that keeping 150 hostages would be “a difficult endavour”.
She suggested that while those taken by Hamas are in a perilous situation, that did not necessarily mean the worst.
“I’ve seen hostages walk out of scenarios that we all thought was almost impossible,” she said. “Most hostage takers do want to end up releasing them at some point down the line.”
She added that negotiators would be looking to those with influence – possibly Qatar, which this week was in touch with Hamas over releasing hostages – to secure releases, particularly of women and children.
For Israel and the US, one of the biggest challenges at the moment is locating the whereabouts of those who have been captured.
Both countries are actively working together to try and figure that out.
“I have directed my team to work with their Israeli counterparts on every aspect of the hostage crisis, including sharing intelligence and deploying experts from across the United States government to consult with and advise Israeli counterparts on hostage recovery efforts,” US President Joe Biden said on Tuesday.
Officials quoted by US network NBC said that, if information on the whereabouts of hostages emerges, then a risky military operation would follow.
Regardless, a ground invasion of Gaza by Israel is widely expected.
- Contains reporting by © AFP 2023.
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