More than 200 hostages are being held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, but Israeli special forces have almost no rescue plan because they face too many risks.
In a large-scale raid on Israeli territory on October 7, Hamas forces not only caused great loss of life, but also kidnapped many people and brought them to the Gaza Strip, including foreign citizens.
The Israeli military has confirmed that at least 203 hostages are being held by Hamas and other militant groups in the Gaza Strip, most likely in a network of tunnels.
Hamas has released its first video of a hostage it is holding. The person in the video is Mia Schem, a 21-year-old French-Israeli woman who was taken captive at a music festival near the Gaza Strip on October 7. In the video, Schem says she has had surgery on her hand and begs to return home. "Please help me get out of here as quickly as possible," she says.
Israeli hostage Mia Schem speaks from the Gaza Strip in a video released by Hamas on October 16. Video: X/@Aldanmarki
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had some information about the whereabouts of the hostages, but pledged not to launch an attack that could threaten their lives.
Israeli special forces have carried out many daring hostage rescue operations in the past. The most notable was Operation Thunderbolt in 1976, which freed 106 hostages on Air France Flight 139, which had been hijacked by a group of Palestinian and German hijackers and diverted to Entebbe Airport, Uganda.
Uganda's then-president, Idi Admin, a Palestinian supporter, deployed troops around the airport, but only to protect the hijackers. However, Israeli commandos decided to carry out a raid on the airport.
The attack killed commander Yonatan Netanyahu, brother of current Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and four hostages, but all 102 people on board were rescued safely. All four hijackers and at least 20 Ugandan soldiers were shot dead.
However, experts say that if Israel decides to launch a hostage rescue operation in the Gaza Strip, its special forces will face unprecedented challenges.
"This is an unprecedented event, with over 200 people being held as human shields," said Jeffrey Feltman, former US assistant secretary of state for the Near East. "I also don't think the Israeli government or its allies have much experience dealing with this type of hostage situation in the Gaza Strip."
According to Tomer Israeli, former commander of the Sayeret Matkal special forces unit that carried out Operation Thunderbolt, Israel has never carried out a hostage rescue mission from the Gaza Strip because the community there has very close ties, making it difficult to infiltrate and gather intelligence.
The challenge is even greater now that the Gaza Strip has become a war zone. “I won’t be able to run my undercover team the way I did in peacetime,” Israeli said.
Prime Minister Netanyahu met with relatives of hostages in the city of Ramle on October 15. Photo: Times of Israel
The former Israeli commander said this was a major problem, as intelligence gathering, especially the location of the hostages, was “crucial” to the success of any rescue operation. The IDF said it had some information about where the hostages were being held, but it was unclear whether it knew specifically where they were being held.
If Israeli intelligence locates the hostages, Hamas can also move them to another location through its extensive network of tunnels. The hostages can even be smuggled out of the Gaza Strip through tunnels across the border with Egypt.
"Once there is reliable information about where the hostages are being held, Israel, and the United States if necessary, must act immediately before they are transferred. We must always be on the scene," a former US official familiar with hostage rescue issues told NBC News .
According to the former official, an Israeli rescue operation in the Gaza Strip would pose many risks to both the hostages and the commandos. They would have difficulty calling in reinforcements if the situation deteriorated, as well as facing booby traps and the risk of hostages being used as human shields. "It would be a brutal operation," the former US official said.
Israel also said that Hamas's "geographical advantage" made rescuing the hostages more challenging.
"No two buildings or doors are the same. They are protected in different ways and contain many surprises. If the enemy is creative, they can think of many ways to prevent rescue efforts," he said.
Israeli commandos will not be able to use grenades because they could harm hostages, Israeli officials said. They also cannot fire immediately without identifying the target, giving the enemy more time to react. "Israeli commandos must be able to distinguish between the enemy and civilians," he said.
To avoid risks, Israel may consider a safer option of accepting prisoner-for-hostage negotiations with Hamas. This force previously announced that it would release the hostages if Israel returned 5,200 Palestinian prisoners held by Tel Aviv.
Israeli tanks move near the city of Sderot on October 8. Photo: Reuters
Israel has accepted such prisoner exchanges in the past. In 2021, Tel Aviv agreed to hand over 1,027 prisoners to Hamas in exchange for just one captured Israeli soldier.
However, this option would not be feasible if Israel decided to launch a ground offensive into the Gaza Strip. Seth Jones, an expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), is concerned that the hostage issue will not affect Israel's plans to launch an offensive.
"When Israeli military planners and commanders believe it is time to launch an operation, I think they will carry it out regardless of the hostage situation," he said.
Experts say the parties may still have time to negotiate before Israel launches a ground operation. But that time is likely running out, with the Israeli defense minister announcing that his country’s troops will soon be inside the Gaza Strip.
Pham Giang (According to NBC News, Daily Beast, Drive )
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