Despite the methodical destruction of Gaza, despite the thousands of fighters eliminated among the 42,000 Palestinians killed by the Israeli army, despite Israel's military and technological superiority, 101 hostages are still in Hamas's hands, one year after they were kidnapped during the massive October 7 attack. This reality has become a nightmare for their families and a large part of Israeli society, who have been calling for their return.

Hamas seized 251 hostages on October 7. Of these, 117 have been released, most as part of a prisoner exchange in November 2023. Of those still held by Hamas and its allies, 64 are presumed alive, according to a tally by Agence France-Presse (AFP): 52 men, 10 women and two children. 11 of the detainees are military personnel, including five women. The Israeli authorities have claimed that a total of 70 hostages have been killed, the bodies of 33 of whom are still in Gaza. The army has recovered 37 bodies of hostages, who died in captivity under unknown conditions, or who had been taken to Gaza when they were already dead. Three hostages were killed by Israeli soldiers, who mistook them for Palestinians.

In addition to the 97 hostages that are still being held by their captors, there are four other people who had been captured before October 7, two of whom are still presumed to be alive. Since the end of the truce on December 1, 2023, only seven living hostages have been freed in Israeli army operations.

Negotiations to free them, under the auspices of Qatar, Egypt and the US, have never stopped, but they have always become stalled. One of the main culprits is Yahya Sinwar, the architect of the October 7 massacre and leader of Hamas since its previous leader, Ismail Haniyeh, was killed in Tehran in a July 31 explosion that has been attributed to Israel. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, is the other culprit, having regularly blocked the progress made by his negotiators, despite the fact that the return of prisoners and people dead in war is one of Israel's cardinal values.

On the day of the initial attack, it was not until his third statement, late into the night, that the prime minister mentioned the word "hostages," in speeches that were dominated by the terms "destruction" and "revenge:" "We will destroy [Hamas] and we will forcefully avenge this dark day they have imposed on the State of Israel and its citizens. As Bialik [considered to be Israel's national poet] wrote: 'Revenge for the blood of a little child, has yet been devised by Satan.'"

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