IDF fears some Israeli hostages in Gaza captivity may never be found

The Israeli military fears that some of the remaining Israeli hostages being held by terrorists in Gaza may never be found, according to a Times of Israel report. Over 250 hostages were taken by Hamas terrorists and Palestinian allies during the terror group's invasion of southern Israeli border communities on Oct. 7.

Israeli authorities have reported that 111 hostages remain in Gaza, and it is unclear how many of them are still alive. The report came last week, shortly after Israeli troops recovered the bodies of five Israelis who were murdered on Oct. 7, before they were taken into the coastal enclave. IDF troops eventually found their bodies well-hidden inside a tunnel around 20 meters (over 65 feet) below Khan Younis, the hometown of Hamas Gaza Chief Yahya Sinwar. The complex operation involved close cooperation with the Israeli Security Agency (ISA), or Shin Bet. Israeli forces also eliminated some 150 terrorists during the recovery operation.

While the operation to retrieve the bodies was successful, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi later noted that the IDF had been "near these bodies before, we didn’t know how to reach out [and recover them]. Now that we knew how to reach out, we did so. We brought five [slain hostages], which otherwise, it’s not certain we would have ever found them.”

Despite its small size, the Gaza Strip presents a challenging terrain for operations due to its high population density and the extensive tunnel systems built across the enclave by the terrorist militia Hamas.

In addition to the 111 remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza, Hamas has also been holding two Israeli civilians as hostages for around a decade, along with the bodies of two IDF soldiers who were killed in 2014.

Another major challenge to retrieving Israeli hostages is that they were kidnapped by Hamas and other terror cells that often do not communicate with each other. In April, Israeli forces successfully recovered the body of Elad Katzir, an Israeli hostage who was later murdered in Gaza by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terror group. Katzir's body was discovered in Khan Younis, in an area used by terrorists. The IDF assessed that his captors had been killed and nobody else in Gaza knew Katzir’s whereabouts. However, the Israeli military, nevertheless, eventually retrieved his body based on visual intelligence.

Israeli authorities continue to gather a significant amount of intelligence from Gaza via troops on the ground and interrogations of captured Hamas terrorists. While the additional intelligence increases the prospects of finding more hostages, Israeli authorities reportedly fear that time is running out. Many are still believed to be held underground in tunnels. Israeli forces have uncovered and neutralized many Hamas tunnels but much of the terror group’s vast subterranean infrastructure remains intact.

In June, Israeli special forces rescued four Israeli hostages in a daring operation against a Hamas stronghold in central Gaza. Israeli forces have so far succeeded in rescuing a total of seven Israeli hostages held by terrorists in Gaza. The vast majority of the more than 100 former hostages were released as a result of an internationally brokered hostage deal in November 2023. However, it is currently unclear how the dramatic elimination of Hamas' top political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran will affect the protracted hostage negotiations.