On the morning of September 1, the Israeli military (IDF) announced that it had found the lifeless bodies of Ersch Goldberg-Polin, Eden Yerushalami, Carmel Gat, Almog Sarusi, Alex Lubnov and Ori Danino, six hostages kidnapped by Hamas in the October 7 attacks. The IDF also said that the hostages were killed by the Palestinian terrorist group in tunnels under Rafah, as Israeli troops were approaching.
To the human drama, which is added to the tragic situation of death and destruction that has been going on in Gaza for almost a year (according to the local Ministry of Health, controlled by Hamas, Palestinian deaths have exceeded 40,000 since the beginning of the conflict), there is also a political issue, because this latest episode places Benjamin Netanyahu’s government in front of the dilemma of how to address the issue of the release of the hostages and a ceasefire in Gaza, an issue on which the Israeli government and public opinion have not been without divisions up to now.
First things first: How many Israeli hostages are currently being held by Hamas? On October 7, during its attacks in southern Israel, the Palestinian terrorist group is estimated to have kidnapped a total of 251 people, almost all of them Israeli citizens (some of them dual citizens) except 23 Thais and one Filipino. Of these, 117 have returned home alive: 105 under agreements that provided for the release of Palestinian prisoners by Israel, eight freed in IDF operations, and four released unilaterally by Hamas. In addition, 72 hostages have died in captivity, according to Israel. This leaves a total of 97 people in Hamas hands, which rises to 101 if we consider another four people held by the group before October 7. It is difficult to fully understand the situation of these people, in a context of open war like that of the Gaza Strip, which is why with each additional day of captivity there are fears for the safety of these hostages. In the current situation, in fact, not only are the kidnapped exposed like the civilian population of Gaza to the risks of war, but there is also fear that the damage to infrastructure and logistics could make it difficult in some cases to know information about their status: last November, Hamas had made it known to them that it did not know the situation of 60 hostages due to the ongoing attacks. Obviously, the status and situation of the hostages are being worked on first of all by intelligence and teams of negotiators who are managing all the hypotheses of negotiation and are not required to reveal anything to the public.
However, news about the hostage situation periodically leaks out: the latest, reported in recent days by the British newspaper UK Jewish Chronicle, says that Hamas leader Yaya Sinwar is holding 22 hostages in his immediate vicinity in an attempt to prevent his killing, while all the others are in the hands of various groups active in the Strip, not just Hamas.
In parallel to this, since October 7, there have been very large demonstrations in Israel demanding that the Netanyahu government, shouting “Bring them home,” find a way to bring the hostages home safe and sound, something comparable to the agreement last November in which 80 Israeli hostages were freed in exchange for 240 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons. On that occasion, Hamas also freed Thai and Filipino citizens and an Israeli with Russian citizenship as part of other agreements and decisions. However, to date all attempts at an agreement seem very far away, despite numerous international pressures, with the most extremist forces of the Israeli government particularly intransigent and Hamas having rejected the most recent proposals for an agreement promoted by the USA. But precisely in this situation, in light of the deaths of the six hostages made public today, the pressure for an agreement, or for a solution that could lead to the safe return home of those currently in the hands of Hamas, seems destined to increase and, potentially, to open a debate within the Netanyahu government.
The Israeli prime minister, today, announced in a press conference that Israel had accepted a deal last May supported by the US but rejected by Hamas, an episode repeated on August 16, and that those who kill hostages do not want a deal. At the same time, he said he was committed to finding an agreement to free the hostages and guarantee the security of Israel.
How this agreement could eventually come about is a big dilemma that does not allow for shortcuts. In the Netanyahu government, the most extremist voices of ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, the most extreme in the government, have often been heard, opposed to any concessions towards Hamas, while Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Netanyahu’s party colleague in the Likud, has always been more open. Opposition leaders, including Benny Gantz, who had joined the post-October 7 national unity government, have also repeatedly criticized the management of the conflict by Netanyahu and his most extremist allies.
To date, the main point of division regarding the agreement is control of the Philadelphia corridor, as the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt is called, just 14 kilometers long, currently under the control of the IDF. Hamas has drawn a red line on the IDF’s withdrawal from this corridor and from the Netzarim corridor, which divides the north and south of the Strip, but Israel does not want to give in immediately, not even to an international force, yet to be formed. With Egypt also demanding the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the area, Netanyahu believes at this time control of the corridor is necessary for Israel’s security, since the bulk of smuggled weapons to Gaza in support of Hamas have traditionally been sent from here. Gallant, for his part, has opened up to the possibility of the IDF leaving the corridor, opening a small rift in the government, which, however, could become larger in the coming days. We will see what happens, but the chances of a ceasefire also depend on those 14 kilometers of land in the desert.
#Hostage #Deaths #Government #Divisions #Israel #TPI
