Key PointsFamilies of people taken hostage by Hamas are pleading with Israel to focus on their release.Israel has said its “war machine is moving” as it plans to destroy Hamas.Other relatives fear mediation could take years.
As Israel prepares to invade the Gaza Strip, many families of are pleading with the government to rein in the war effort and instead of their loved ones.
Other relatives warn mediation could take years and say their best hope lies with the military, hoping ground forces could find the missing men, women and children before it’s too late.
Two female hostages were released by the militant group on Monday in response to Egyptian-Qatari mediation efforts. Two United States citizens were released on Friday.
aged from 9 months to 85 years during their 7 October rampage, during which they also killed 1,400 people. Many of those taken hold dual nationality, including many with US and European passports.
The significant escalation is the latest in a long-standing conflict between Hamas and Israel.
The hostages are believed to be hidden in the Gaza Strip, possibly in , even as Israeli warplanes pound the territory ahead of a threatened invasion, killing more than 5,000 Palestinians.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to eliminate Hamas and Israeli troops could enter Gaza at any moment, but many families are urging him to focus solely on the hostages.
“This should be the top priority, not to destroy Hamas, not to control Gaza and not anything else,” said Noam Alon, the boyfriend of Inbar Haiman, a 27-year-old artist who was one of dozens abducted from a music festival.
Yocheved Lifshitz, left, and Nurit Cooper, who were held hostage by Palestinian Hamas militants, have been released. Source: AP / /
How do hostage negotiations work?
The hostages may be used as human shields or as bargaining chips, former hostage negotiator and United Nations counterterrorism adviser Scott Walker told ABC Radio.
“It’s a clear message by Hamas, to say to the world that, hey, we’re still relevant, because Israel were very close to signing a deal with Saudi and the whole region just seem to have moved on from the historic conflicts.”
“It almost seems as if it was a last hurrah by Hamas to prove their significance in the world, and actually that they still have the intent and capability to deliver such shock tactics.”
Walker said there would be much going on behind the scenes in the negotiations.
“Generally speaking, what happens is, there’s a need to identify an open channel of communication between the parties, then you’ve got to establish trust.”
Walker said trust takes a long time to build.
“Then you actually need to set the parameters and have the negotiations, then you reach an agreement. And then probably the most sensitive time is the implementation phase, where in this case, utilising the International Red Cross by facilitating those two hostages coming back.”
If more hostages are released it’s likely they will be dual nationals, which is a strategic decision by Hamas, Walker said.
“It will help placate other nations … it’s no surprise that the first two hostages released were American citizens,” he said.
Why is Qatar involved in the hostage negotiations with Hamas?
A Qatari official said Hamas’ political office was “opened in Qatar in 2012 in coordination with the United States government, following a US request to open a communication channel”.
Qatar has been linked to negotiations for a prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas because of its open channels with the militant group.
Keren Shelf, the mother of Israeli-French citizen Mia Schem, who is among some 200 people being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza, holding a picture of her daughter. Source: AAP / Abir Sultan/EPA
The country has been engaged in a number of mediations over the years in the region.
Hamas is a Palestinian military and political group, gaining power in the Gaza Strip since winning legislative elections there in 2006.
Hamas stated aim is to establish a Palestinian state, while refusing to recognise Israel’s right to exist.
People conduct a search and rescue operation for Palestinians stuck under the debris of a destroyed building after an Israeli airstrike in Rafah, Gaza on 22 October 2023. Source: Getty / Anadolu
Hamas, in its entirety, is designated as a terrorist organisation by countries including Australia, Canada, the UK and the US.
Some countries list only its military wing as a terrorist group.
The UN though did not condemn Hamas in its entirety as a terrorist organisation, due to insufficient support from member states to do so during a 2018 vote.
Hostage negotiations present a dilemma for some Israeli relatives
Family support groups are holding daily protests outside Netanyahu’s office in Tel Aviv to keep the fate of the captives in the spotlight, and have set up a table with a place setting for each missing person in a city centre square as a symbol of the plight of those abducted.
Jonathan Dekel-Chen, whose 35-year-old son Sagui was believed to have been kidnapped from a kibbutz, said Hamas had to be dealt with “now”, but thought the army had to make rescuing the hostages the priority of any military campaign.
“It is possible to do two things at once, even for this Israeli government, to do everything in its power to protect the lives and well-being of our loved ones while doing what it has to do to Hamas,” he told the Reuters news agency.
Judith Raanan (right) and her daughter Natalie are escorted as they return to Israel from captivity in the Gaza Strip on Friday. Source: AAP / AP
Israel has a long experience of dealing with hostage crises, but has previously shied away from attempting rescue operations in the densely populated Gaza Strip.
In 2011, Netanyahu released 1,027 Palestinian prisoners to secure the release of army Sergeant Gilad Shalit, who was held in Gaza for more than five years.
Some of the freed Palestinians returned to the ranks of Hamas, including its current leader in Gaza, Yahya Al-Sinwar.
Ilan and Sandy Feldman were among those who met Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Sunday to talk about Sandy’s sister and brother-in-law, Aviva and Keith Siegel, who were kidnapped on 7 October and last seen in a video being driven into Gaza by Palestinian militants.
“Should we negotiate with them again? Look at all the people who we released for Shalit and are now the ones who went on and murdered. Was it worth it? I don’t know,” said Sandy Feldman.
How will the negotiations over Hamas hostages continue?
Hamas unilaterally released two women with dual Israeli-US nationality last Friday “for humanitarian reasons” in a deal brokered by Qatar, a long-term backer of Hamas.
Mediation efforts continue, a Qatari foreign ministry spokesperson has said. However, Israel has not indicated it is interested in prisoner swaps.
Netanyahu has appointed a retired general, Gal Hirsch, as Israel’s coordinator on the hostages and missing persons. His public comments so far have been uncompromising.
“Our war machine is moving. Do not ask us to stop,” he told a gathering of European ambassadors last week in an angry address where accused Western governments of holding Israel back in past confrontations with Hamas.
“This is a wake-up call for you. We woke up completely thank God. There will be an unimaginable response. Believe me. We have only (just) started the war,” he said.
Hamas has suggested its hostages could be swapped for some 6,000 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons, but Israeli security experts have questioned whether such a deal could ever happen, even if the government were willing to consider it.
