IDF Notifies Families Of 199 Hostages Held In Gaza, Vows To Avoid Airstrikes On Their Locations

Israel’s military announced Monday that it has now notified all the families of the 199 people that have been confirmed thus far to have been kidnapped by Hamas amid the terror raids into southern Israel on October 7.

The announcement also serves to confirm that the number of Israeli and foreign captives is higher than the initial estimate of 150 which had initially circulated days after. Americans and some other nationalities are believed to be among them.

Further, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari indicted the military does have some information on where they are being held in the Gaza Strip. However, reports from days ago suggest some may have already been killed. 

Hamas had earlier claimed that 13 of the hostages were killed in Israeli airstrikes, but the IDF rejected this, saying “we have our own information and do not believe the lies of Hamas.”

On Monday the IDF’s Hagari sought to assure familes that “We are making valiant efforts to try to understand where the hostages are in Gaza, and we have such information.” And he also qualified, “We will not carry out an attack that would endanger our people.”

Families of the hostages have produced a statement. A representative told Israeli media, “Netanyahu told the families that one of the goals of the war is the return of the captive and missing.”

According to the Times of Israel: 

Israelis and foreign nationals — infants, children with special needs, octogenarians with chronic health issues — were dragged by terrorists into Gaza, with their whereabouts largely unknown since.

While the majority are being held by Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad claims to be holding 30 hostages of its own, further complicating efforts to bring about their release.

Amid the constant war headlines of the last week, one underreported aspect to the crisis is that families of the missing have been furious over the Netanyahu government’s handling of the hostage situation. First, they say the government was too slow to notify or communicate with relatives of captives. 

Angry and anxious, families of Israelis held in Gaza demand support from the international community https://t.co/pbUQb6OAHI

— Haaretz.com (@haaretzcom) October 14, 2023

CNN has noted after interviewing some of the families, “While the families are mostly focused on spreading information about their loved ones, many others are getting increasingly angry about the government’s response to the crisis.”