The day after Israeli hostage Ofer Kalderon was released by Hamas on February 1, his sister-in-law Sharon issued a statement: "Ofer is back! After 484 days in hell, we are finally able to hold him in our arms again. We are deeply grateful to the French government, President Macron, Anne-Claire Legendre [North Africa and Middle East adviser at the Elysée] and Paul Soler [adviser at the Elysée], for their invaluable assistance. I'd like to also thank President Trump and his team for their role in securing the deal that brought Ofer home." In the same statement, Nissan, the hostage's brother, also reiterated his thanks to the French government, naming the same people and adding Matthieu Clouvel, the French consul general in Tel Aviv.

The Kalderon family's statement, thanking France before the United States, highlighted the discreet role played by Paris during the crisis that began on October 7, 2023, with Hamas's terrorist attack. Indeed, the worst massacre in Israel's history, with some 1,200 victims and 251 people kidnapped, was also a French tragedy: France suffered the second-highest number of casualties after Israel. According to a judicial source, 82 victims were French nationals. Among them, 49 died and 27 were injured. Five hostages who are French nationals have been freed, two have died and one, whose death was announced in January by a group linked to Hamas, remains in captivity.

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