Israel–Hamas war hostage crisis
2023 kidnappings
On 7 October 2023, as part of the Hamas-led attack on Israel at the beginning of the Israel–Hamas war, Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups abducted 253 people from Israel to the Gaza Strip, including children, women, and elderly people. The precise ratio of soldiers and civilians among the captives is unknown. The captives are likely being held in different locations in the Gaza Strip.
Quotes
edit- All hostages must be released without further delay.
- Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani of Qatar, together with President Biden according to Toddler among US hostages in Gaza - White House (13 November 2023) By Jessica Murphy BBC News
- I mean, we desperately want to get those American hostages out. But if you saw those kids in the hands of those terrorists, like, with a mom heart, it made me sick to my stomach for all those parents having to see their children in those terrorist hands. So, of course, we want them out.
- But why isn't it so easy that we can do that? It's because we don't know where they are. And I have been in those tunnels that are massive, that are sophisticated, and that Hamas uses to hide equipment and ammunition and to do their dirty work and maybe to have those hostages.
- But where are those tunnels? They're underneath hospitals. They're underneath schools. They're in hard-to-find places. So this is incredibly tough. I feel for the Israeli families. I feel for the American families. And I feel for any other families who've lost a loved one or have someone in a hostage situation, because it's really bleak right now. And it's hard for anyone to feel good about this.
- Nikki Haley, Interview with Jake Tapper Nikki Haley on CNN's State Of The Union (FULL Interview), Transcripts State of the Union (October 15, 2023)
- Based on the first-hand accounts of released hostages, the mission team received clear and convincing information that sexual violence, including rape, sexualized torture, and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment occurred against some women and children during their time in captivity
- UN special representative Pramila Patten according to Senior Hamas official says he ‘cannot reassure anyone’ that hostages in Gaza are safe (March 15, 2024)
- [Israel] does not stop its efforts to return Avera Mengistu and the rest of our captives and missing persons
- in Prime Minister Netanyahu The forgotten Israeli hostages kept by Hamas in Gaza for years (“Published 3 days ago”)
