When Hamas-led Palestinian fighters attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, and took about 250 people captive, it set in motion an issue that instantly.
Much of Israeli society grew to value the concept of zero.
The captives immediately became a symbol for Israelis, used to justify Israel’s brutal war on Gaza – which has now killed more than 46, 800 Palestinians. However, the subject has also sparked controversies in Israeli society, with many, particularly those who support Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s opposition, claiming that the government has not done enough to secure a release agreement.
The nightmare of being held in captivity may soon come to an end now that a ceasefire agreement has been reached.
How many Gazans will be freed as captives?
If the Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement is fully implemented, there are reportedly still about 100 Israeli prisoners imprisoned in Gaza.
Not all will be made available immediately, though. 33 prisoners are anticipated to be exchanged for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel over the course of the first six-week phase of the agreement. Some of the Israeli captives who will be released in this stage are sick or injured, as are some older men and women who are over 50.
1, 890 Palestinian prisoners will be exchanged for those who were released in the first phase, according to Egypt. Israel has said that it will release 95 Palestinians, all women and children, on the first day of the ceasefire on Sunday.
The rest of the captives, all believed to be male soldiers, will be released in later phases of the ceasefire deal, in exchange for an unspecified number of Palestinian prisoners.
What information is known about the releasing captives’ identities?
Although the identities of the Israeli captives who are still in Gaza are unknown, it is unclear who is still alive. No official list of the prisoners who were released in the first phase has yet to be released.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated on Saturday that the ceasefire wouldn’t start until Israel received the list of prisoners who would be free.
Hamas claims that several Israeli captives have been killed in Israeli attacks on the locations where they have been held, but videos with messages from some of the captives have also been made available.
While all of the remaining captives are Israeli, some are dual-nationals, including from the United States, Argentina and Germany.
According to legend, five of the captives were female soldiers who were taken during raids on October 7 and held there.
Israelis who were taken from Gaza before October 7 and who have lived there for years are the two captives who are expected to be released in the first phase.
What will the transition process entail?
More than 100 of the Palestinians who have fled Gaza were released as part of a temporary ceasefire in November 2023, compared to the military operations that some captives underwent that resulted in the deaths of dozens of Palestinian civilians.
The prisoners who were released were then transferred by Palestinian fighters to the Red Cross before being handed over to Israeli forces during that prisoner exchange.
Hagai Levine, the head of the health team at the Hostages Families Forum, anticipates that many of the captives will have cardiovascular and respiratory issues after spending so much time underground in tunnels. Israel has prepared medical teams to take them.
How significant was their captivity in Israel?
Since the start of the war, the subject of the captives has been at the forefront of both Israeli and pro-Israel supporters.
One of Israel’s main war objectives has been the release of the captives, but it arguably disagrees with Hamas’s complete defeat in the end.
The Israeli prime minister had consistently rejected this request up until recently because Hamas has offered to release the captives since the war started as part of a deal that will end the conflict.
Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s far-right national security minister, has claimed that he has been able to use his political influence to thwart any deal over the past year, putting the Palestinians’ goal of destroying Hamas and establishing illegal Israeli settlements in Gaza before the release of the prisoners in a prisoner exchange. If the agreement is implemented, Ben-Gvir is now expected to fulfill his pledge to resign.
However, the return of the captives is the primary demand for many Israelis. Their images are frequently heard at protests, and posters of their photos are distributed throughout Israel. A plaza in Tel Aviv has been renamed “Hostages Square”, and is a focal point for demonstrations.
Source: Aljazeera
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