Palestinians transport an allegedly captured Israeli in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip Photo: AFP/Getty
Dozens of Israeli hostages were taken to Gaza Hamas, limiting Israel's ability to respond to Saturday's attack and raising the possibility of a prisoner swap.
Hamas says it has captured 52 civilian and military hostages, keeping some under surveillance. in Israeli border towns and smuggle others through tunnels into Gaza.
Video released by Hamas showed troops withdrawing from the Israel Defense Forces-controlled Erez checkpoint on the Gaza Strip border, but many of the hostages were believed to be civilians.
The captives were reported to have included an elderly woman with dementia and workers from Thailand and the Philippines, while Israeli television showed footage of a young man, stripped down to his pants, being led away on foot.
A spokesman for the group's armed wing said that «dozens of hostages» were hidden in «safe locations and resistance tunnels.»
The captured officers were reported to include Major General Nimrod Aloni, former commander of the Defense Forces Israel» (IDF) Gaza Division.
Photos published on social networks allegedly show terrorists leading an officer down the street in a T-shirt and underwear, although the IDF denies that he was captured.
Palestinian militants surrounded a truck believed to be carrying a captive Israeli woman. Photo: AFP/Getty
After the kidnappings, Israeli officials launched a counter-offensive in border towns, including Kibbutz Be'eri in the eastern Gaza Strip and Netiv HaAsara in the north, where civilians were taken hostage.
Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, the IDF's chief spokesman, said special forces were involved in «live firefights» to rescue civilians, but did not comment on the number of hostages taken.
A spokesman for the terror group said Hamas believed it had enough Israeli hostages to secure the release of some 4,500 Palestinian prisoners and vowed to kidnap more soldiers as the war continued.
Saleh al-Arouri, military leader Hamas' wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, told Al Jazeera: «What is in our hands will free all prisoners. We captured senior officers of the occupation army.»
Hamas has previously used hostages as bargaining chips to secure the release of its fighters.
In 2011, the group's commanders exchanged Gilad Shalit. , an Israeli soldier, for more than 1,000 prisoners held by Tel Aviv.
Of the prisoners released, 280 were sentenced to life in prison for planning or carrying out violent attacks on Israelis, and the Israeli government later said dozens had resumed terrorist activities activities after release.
There are currently around 4,500 Palestinians believed to be held in Israel for «security» reasons, including 183 from the Gaza Strip.
Palestinians transport a suspected captured Israeli civilian in the Gaza Strip Photo: Hatem Ali/AP
Half of them are serving sentences, and a quarter are awaiting trial in Israel. The rest are «administrative detainees» held without charge on suspicion of planning to commit a crime in the future, according to data compiled by the Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem.
Many other Israelis are trapped. in their homes in «safe rooms» built to protect them in case of attack.
The International Committee of the Red Cross has called for civilians to be left unharmed while fighting continues.
p>»I want to make it clear that carrying out or threatening to carry out an act of hostage-taking is prohibited by international humanitarian law,» said Fabrizio Carboni, the group's Middle East director.
«Anyone» with detainees, including combatants, should be treated with humanity and dignity.»
Stéphane Dujarric, a UN spokesman, said civilians «must always be respected and protected in accordance with international humanitarian law.»
Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said he was “deeply concerned by reports that Israeli civilians are being taken hostage” and called on Israeli forces carrying out counterstrikes in Gaza to “take all precautions to avoid casualties.” civilian population.» /p>
Hostage-taking is a war crime and violates both the Geneva Convention and a separate UN hostage convention ratified in 1979.
Military significance
The capture of General Aloni, which The Telegraph could not independently confirm, will be seen as particularly significant following his involvement in decades-long Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip.
General Aloni is the former commander of the Gaza Strip. IDF unit, and last year he was promoted to head of the Depth Corps, a special forces unit that strikes military targets in Palestine behind enemy lines.
In May 2021, he was responsible for conducting Operation Wall Guard — Military Israel's response to Hamas rocket attacks on Jerusalem in the Gaza Strip.
He also commanded the Gaza Strip Division during «Dawn», a three-day Israeli campaign of air strikes against Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) targets in August 2022.< /p>
General Aloni later announced that the IDF had disabled Hamas tunnels in southern Israel.
Dawood Shihab, a PIJ spokesman, said on Saturday that hostage-taking was the main goal of Hamas' operation in Israel.
However, Mr. Arouri, the Hamas military leader, said a ground battle with IDF forces was “the best scenario for us to resolve the conflict with the enemy.”< /p>
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