What is known so far about the captives taken by Hamas during the Israel-Gaza conflict

 What is known so far about the captives taken by Hamas during the Israel-Gaza conflict

On October 7, when they shocked the Israeli government with their dawn raids, Hamas militants detained a number of Israeli citizens and troops, according to sources. Here is a list of what is currently known about the hostages.

Unknown is the precise number of people held by Hamas. The Israeli military claims that "a significant number" of its citizens, both civilians and military personnel, are being held captive by the extremist organization.

According to Lt Col Jonathan Conricus, a military spokesman, some of the prisoners are thought to be alive and only a small number are thought to have been murdered, according to the BBC.

The spokesman said that children, women, and the elderly are among those detained, and that the numbers up to this point are "unimaginable" and will determine "the future" of the current round of hostilities.

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"Multiple times greater"

Although Hamas has not disclosed the precise number of Israelis taken hostage, it has claimed that it is "several times greater" than the dozens that have been reported by the media. 

According to the terrorist organization, the hostages have been transported to numerous sites around the Gaza Strip.

Senior Israeli military commander Major General Nimrod Aloni is one among those being held captive, according to The Telegraph. During the attacks in southern Israel, he was taken prisoner.

Analysts noted that Aloni, the leader of the Israeli Defense Forces' "Depth Corps," a force tasked with operations against Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), another Islamist terrorist group, and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah, is crucial to Hamas' negotiating position.

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filmed during an outdoor rave

Scores of the prisoners, according to Israeli media, were taken by Hamas militants from an outdoor party that took place in the early hours of October 7 in Kibbutz Re'im.

Kibbutz is a southern Israeli city of Ofakim's outlying neighborhood that is near to the occupied Gaza Strip. According to eyewitnesses who talked to local news outlets, the militants rode up on motorbikes and opened fire on the partygoers who had come there to have a good time.

The fighters allegedly took scores of them hostage and transported them on motorbikes, according to the witnesses. Unverified social media footage depicts militants robbing a lady and putting her on a motorcycle. Its authenticity was unable to be verified.

The woman's name is Noa Argamani, according to a guy who described himself as the woman's brother when speaking to Israeli station Channel 12. "I saw Noa in the video worried and worried I can't imagine what's going though her mind at all - screaming in distress on a motorcycle," he said.

Later, the same lady was seen in a room in what was said to be situated in the Gaza Strip, according to another unconfirmed video. She was seen drinking liquid.

Vehicle carrying captives

On many social media videos, Israeli troops are allegedly being pulled and placed onto trucks as they pass through what look to be parts of the Gaza Strip. 

A BBC-verified video shows a group of individuals—apparently Israelis—being taken barefoot through a street by Hamas gunmen. The news broadcaster said that the footage was taken in the Kubbutz area.

An Israeli lady named Ella who lives in a village not far from the beleaguered Gaza Strip told Reuters that she spent hours confined inside a bomb shelter while fighting between the Israeli military and the Hamas terrorists went on.

"We can hear a lot of shots fired, we were told that terrorists are in the dining area, and we can hear a lot of shooting," she said to the media.

However, the majority of the reports from Israeli news outlets indicated that the captives held by Hamas militants in places outside of the Gaza Strip had been released. The media sources said that this included a party of 50 Israelis who were apprehended in a Kibbutz dining room.

Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, issued a dire warning, threatening terrible retaliation against anybody who endangered the Israeli captives in any way. Netanyahu said that Hamas is in charge of ensuring their safety up to their release, adding that "we would settle the score with anyone who harms them."