The release of hostages held by Hamas has become Israel's top priority over the past year, but 101 people remain missing. hoping for a deal to bring them home It will decline rapidly in the foreseeable future.
Of the 240 people taken hostage from Israel by Hamas on October 7, 2023, 117 were released during the ceasefire or rescued during Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) missions. Dozens of the 101 people who have not been released are believed to have died.
Four Americans remain trapped inside: Keith Siegel, 65, Sagui Deker-Cheng, 36, Omer Neutra, 22, and Edan Alexander, 21. It remains as it is.
Many hostage families have lost confidence in the US and Israeli governments. “We don't believe what the prime minister says.” [Benjamin] Prime Minister Netanyahu's priority is to bring the hostages home,” Hannaha Siegel, Keith Siegel's niece, told CNN on Monday.
“Negotiation power” [Hamas Leader Yaya] It is highly unlikely that Sinwar would attempt to rescue any surviving hostages,” said Mark Schwartz, a retired Army general and former Israeli-Palestinian Authority security coordinator.
Referring to the possibility of a prisoner exchange, he said: “There is no strategic benefit for Hamas. Hostages are useful as human shields, and rescuing hundreds of Palestinians from prison is a big deal.” spoke. “That will not extend the lifespan of Hamas's leadership in the Gaza Strip.”
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American hostages still in Gaza, left to right: Sagui Deker-Cheng, Edan Alexander, Omer Neutra, and Keith Siegel. (Abd Rahim Khatib/Anadolu, via Getty Images/Hostage and Missing Families Forum)
President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have been pleading with Prime Minister Netanyahu for months to agree to a cease-fire deal conditional on the return of the hostages.
But as the war spreads from Gaza to Lebanon to Tel Aviv, and as Israel considers an aggressive response to recent Iranian missile attacks, the United States has called for a ceasefire and created an empty echo chamber around I started hearing more and more rattling noises.
“The mood right now is bad,” said Michael Makovsky, director of the Jewish Institute for National Security.
“What's in Shinwar's interest to make a deal? Hamas's military is almost destroyed. I don't think he expects to get out alive. He just wants to leave Gaza alive. I don’t necessarily think so.”
Sinwar, the shadowy leader of Hamas and the mastermind behind the October 7 attack, is believed to be alive and still committed to Israel's destruction.
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On the eve of the anniversary of the attack, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held his first meeting in a month to discuss the plight of the hostages. According to era of israeland officials warned that information about the hostages was rapidly drying up. They reportedly told him that they believed half of the hostages were still alive and were being subjected to increasingly poor conditions. They also warned that Hamas militants were under orders to carry out executions if they felt the IDF was closing in on their positions.
In August, Hamas executed six hostages in the Rafah tunnels as the Israeli Defense Forces closed in.
Israelis rallied to demand the government agree to the September 5 hostage deal. (Ameer Abed Rabbo/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“We'd like to hold out hope that someone will be rescued, but in the case of a hostage transaction, the situation is not good,” Makovsky said.
“I think Netanyahu should have shown more sympathy for the hostages early on, but then the idea took hold that half of Israeli voters didn't like him anyway, and Netanyahu didn't care.
“To be fair to him, he was the prime minister who cut what turned out to be a terrible deal to release over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners for one Israeli hostage in the Gaza Strip. Makovsky added. “One of those prisoners was Sinwar.”
In 2011, Israel agreed to release 1,027 Palestinian prisoners, including Sinwar, in exchange for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. Shinwar is serving 22 years of four life sentences in Israel for plotting the murder of two Israeli soldiers and four Palestinian collaborators in 1989.
Gershon Baskin, who led negotiations on the deal, said he believes Hamas is ready for a deal, but it is not the one that U.S. officials have been working on for months. .
Relatives of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip and their supporters protest near the hotel where Secretary of State Antony Blinken is staying during his visit to Tel Aviv, Monday, August 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
“If Israel withdraws from Gaza, the war will be over in three weeks. All hostages, military and civilian, living and dead, will be released and returned, and Palestinian prisoners of war will also be released with an agreement. They told me in writing that they would transfer the governance of Gaza to a civilian, technocratic, expert government and that they would not be a part of it. ”
Critics of such ideas argue that they fall short of eliminating Hamas and that it could rebuild and threaten Israel again.
Baskin does not represent Israel or Hamas in any official capacity, but U.S. officials are aware of the proposal and say there is a need to pressure Netanyahu and Hamas to reach a solution. said.
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In May, Biden announced a three-phase agreement in which Hamas would return 18 to 32 hostages in exchange for 800 Palestinian prisoners and a six-week cessation of fighting.
“This is a bad deal, and the American leadership… [CIA Director Bill] Burnt [White House Middle East coordinator Brett] “Mr McGurk and others have invested a lot in these negotiations and we just need to realize that they are not going to get us anywhere. You have to pick a deal,” Baskin said.
Attempts to reach the White House and the Israeli government for comment for purposes of this article were unsuccessful as of press time.
