One year later, almost 100 hostages are still in Gaza, their situation is difficult, their fate unknown

One year after the Hamas massacres and the abduction of over 250 people to Gaza, there are still 97 hostages, both living and dead, in the coastal enclave. 

It is not known for certain how many of the hostages are still alive. 

On Monday, Israel announced another hostage, Idan Shtivi, who had been kidnapped from Nova festival on Oct. 7, has been confirmed dead and his body is being held in Gaza.

According to a recent report in N12 News, security officials who spoke to families of the hostages described a difficult situation that is only likely to get worse as the war drags on. 

Security officials indicated that because of the extensive destruction in Gaza – where estimates suggest up to 57% of buildings have been damaged or destroyed – most of the hostages are likely being held underground in surviving tunnels.

These narrow tunnels, as seen in previous pictures, offer little room to move, to sleep, and are likely without showers or toilets. 

The hostages rescued most recently said the terrorists became more aggressive as the IDF’s ground campaign expanded. The security officials also believe that the terrorists will not hesitate to kill the hostages if they believe IDF troops are nearby, close to discovering their location. 

According to the N12 report, officials believe the hostages have likely lost around 20% of their body weight due to poor nutrition and may be suffering from medical issues related to lack of hygiene and mistreatment.

Hamas Spokesman Abu Obeida released a statement Monday afternoon stating the situation of the hostages “has become very difficult.” He blamed the Israeli government for not agreeing to previous hostage deals.

“You could have taken all your hostages back alive a year ago,” he claimed.

Hamas ended the hostage negotiations in November 2023, despite the Israeli government’s willingness to accept the agreed-upon terms. 

IDF reservist Brig.-Gen. Gal Hirsch, the coordinator of the POWs and Missing Persons Unit, spoke at the International Conference on Combating Terrorism on Monday night.

“We don't take our eyes off the abductees, not even for a single moment – until we return them all home,” he stated.

The conference at Reichman University marked the anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas invasion and massacre in southern Israel. 

At the beginning of his remarks, Hirsch apologized to the hostage families. 

“I would like to apologize to the hostages and their families for the fact that we have not been able to return them home so far,” he said. “I know that you are in hell, that the road is difficult and tormenting. Unfortunately, it's too long, too long.” 

Hirsch denied claims that the government has given up on the negotiations.

“The negotiating efforts are ongoing all the time. It exists in different ways, different moves and different channels. It happens. The problem is the time it takes.” 

However, many of the hostage families have expressed feeling abandoned by the government, and that leadership seems more focused on the war effort. 

Shira Elbag, mother of Liri, one of the IDF observers captured by Hamas on Oct. 7, told Maariv that the hostage families feel abandoned by the increasing spread of the war effort. 

“We are getting up for another war and a struggle, now it's a struggle for attention on the issue of the abductees. No attention at all. There is war on so many fronts, the attention of all decision-makers is spreading, and we feel that the issue of abductees has dropped to the bottom of the list," Elbag noted. 

“They keep explaining to us why now is not the right time, and every time there is something different. Why don't they deal with the issue of hostages? Hope a dialogue starts again, we have been told in recent months that Sinwar is out of touch. It seemed most convenient to everyone here that Sinwar was out of touch," she added. 

“The IDF's work makes us very nervous because they don't know where some of them are. We know what happened to the last six murdered when the IDF approached. They tell us that they are very careful and that they very much hope that in the areas where they are fighting, there are no abductees, but there is no absolute certainty.” 

For some hostage families, the news that Sinwar has resumed contact with Hamas officials in Qatar provides a glimmer of hope, however, security officials are not so sure. The reports of Sinwar's recent contact also suggest that the Hamas leader has hardened his negotiating position. 

On Monday, former Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal, presumably one of the officials contacted by Sinwar, released a message praising the war effort by Hamas, saying it will lead to victory. 

Despite the apparent lack of progress in the hostage release negotiations, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told attendees of a government ceremony to mark one year since the massacre that returning the hostages remains a central war goal. 

“As long as our hostages are in Gaza, we will continue to fight, we will not give up on any of them,” Netanyahu stated.  

The overall current hostage number in Gaza, however, stands at 101. These numbers include two IDF soldiers, Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul, who were killed in Gaza during Operation Protective Edge in 2014. Their bodies have been held by Hamas since then. In addition, there are two civilians, Avraham "Avera" Mengistu who crossed into Gaza on Sept. 7, 2014, and Hisham al-Sayed, a Bedouin-Israeli captured by Hamas in the Gaza Strip in 2015.