Israeli attacks could endanger the lives of the Hostage : Families fear

The mother of an Israeli soldier held hostage in Gaza longs for her son's return, fearing that Israel's renewed bombardment of the territory puts his life at even greater risk. "Our children are in danger," Herut Nimrodi told AFP during an interview. Her son, Tamir, was just 18 when he was taken to Gaza on October 7, 2023.

"We don't know much, but one thing that is certain is that military pressure on Gaza endangers the hostages," she said. Of the 251 hostages seized during Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israel, 58 are still held in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.

A truce that lasted from January 19 to March 17 led to the return of 33 Israeli hostages -- eight of them in coffins -- in exchange for the release of around 1,800 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

But on 18 March, after weeks of disagreement with Hamas over how to extend the ceasefire, Israel resumed large-scale military operations in the Gaza Strip, beginning with heavy bombardments.

Nimrodi described her son, a soldier with COGAT, the Israeli military body that oversees civilian affairs in the Palestinian territories, as "happy, curious, altruistic and creative".

On 7 October, Tamir managed to send her a message about the thousands of rockets that Hamas began launching at dawn that day. He was taken hostage 20 minutes later, along with two other soldiers killed two months later inside Gaza, under unknown circumstances.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government insist that increased military pressure is the only way to force Hamas to release the hostages, dead or alive.

"For a year and a half, that hasn't worked. What's worked is negotiations and pressure (from US President Donald Trump)," said Nimrodi, accusing Israel of not prioritising the return of the hostages. Tamir, who turned 20 in captivity, is one of 24 hostages believed to be alive, though no proof of life has been sent since his abduction.