Families of Israeli captives fear, anger on the rise amid escalation

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
28 Oct 2023 18:22

The families have expressed concerns for the safety of their captured family members as the Israeli war machine continues its indiscriminate bombing of the Gaza Strip.

This image grab from AFP TV footage shows fire and smoke rising above Gaza City during an Israeli strike on October 27, 2023. (AFP)

Israeli media reported today that representatives of the families of Israeli captives in Gaza requested, following their meeting with Israeli occupation's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, an all-for-all deal' i.e. a prisoner exchange deal involving all Palestinian prisoners in exchange for all captives the Resistance is holding.

Israeli media quoted Mireav Leshem Gonan, the spokesperson for the captive families, as saying, "We asked Netanyahu not to carry out any operation that puts the fate of the captives at risk."

Gonan described the meeting with the Israeli Prime Minister, which lasted two hours, as a very intense meeting where strong and clear statements were made by the family representatives, with an emphatic request that operations take into account the fate of the captives, stressing that the responsibility for such an operation falls on the Israeli government.

Meanwhile, Netanyahu claimed that "Israel" will pursue "all available options" to secure the release of over 220 captives amid the ongoing bombing of Gaza.

In response to growing concerns about the fate of the captives during "Israel's expansion of ground operation in Gaza," Netanyahu agreed to meet with representatives of the families who were seeking information on the government's approach. While Netanyahu did not commit to a specific exchange deal, he claimed to the families that authorities would make every effort to bring the captives home.

Earlier, relatives of some of the 229 Israeli captives in Gaza staged a protest and urgently appealed on Saturday for a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Security Minister Yoav Gallant, and other members of the war cabinet.

This request comes as "Israel" carried out deliberate strikes that disrupted communication networks in Gaza, while occupation forces declared an "expansion" of ground incursions into the Strip.

Israeli media reported that protesters demanding the release of captives and the dismissal of Netanyahu blocked a road near the Ministry of Security in "Tel Aviv".

The families expressed concern for the safety of their family members as the Israeli war machine launched an unprecedented bombing of the Strip last night, which they described as "the most terrible of all nights."

Simultaneously, the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum issued a statement on Saturday, describing a long and sleepless night filled with Israeli bombardments and a ground operation in the Gaza Strip. They expressed deep uncertainty about the fate of the captives held in Gaza, who were also subjected to heavy bombings.

The forum expressed that the families of those who were taken captive are experiencing “anxiety, frustration, and especially enormous anger that none of the war cabinet bothered to meet with the families of the hostages to explain one thing — whether the ground operation endangers the well-being of the 229 hostages in Gaza.”

Later, after meeting with Netanyahu, representatives of the families of Israeli captives held by Hamas said they supported the all-for-all exchange deal, choosing one of the two options suggested earlier by al-Qassam Brigades Spokesperson, Abu Obeida.

On Saturday, Israeli occupation forces reported that approximately 100 aircraft had conducted airstrikes on roughly 150 alleged targets overnight.

In the past few hours, the Israeli occupation murdered 377 Palestinians in 53 massacres, raising the death toll to 7,703 martyrs with 19,743 wounded. The #Palestinian Ministry of Health added that they received 1,800 reports, among which 1,000 were of missing children.

These are… pic.twitter.com/XubNmNWPlt
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) October 28, 2023

Israeli settler Sasha Ariel, whose sister Karina, an IOF soldier, was captured on Oct. 7, said as quoted by The Washington Post that “no one from the authorities, government, military etc. talked to us about the now escalating activity in Gaza,” stressing that the families of the captives wanted assurances it would “not harm and jeopardize" the captives.

Ariel's fear is justified since an Israeli settler who witnessed the Palestinian Resistance's Operation Al-Aqsa Flood on Gaza envelope settlements has lately confirmed that some settlers were "undoubtedly" killed at the hands of Israeli occupation forces, The Electronic Intifada news website reported.

Yes, on October 7, "Israel" appears to have employed a notorious military doctrine, as per testimonies from several settlers, in which Israeli occupation forces used lethal force that resulted in casualties among both Israelis and non-Israelis. This tactic is known as the "Hannibal Directive".

It is worth noting that al-Qassam Brigades Spokesperson Abu Obeida stated today that approximately 50 captives in Gaza were killed due to Israeli airstrikes, assuring that "if the enemy wishes to resolve the captives' issue once and for all, we are prepared. If they want a fragmented approach, we are also prepared."

This coincides with the unprecedented Israeli bombing of the Strip and deliberate strikes that cut off communication networks in Gaza, while occupation forces are attempting to launch limited ground incursions into the Strip, and failing repeatedly.