On October 7, at least 233 hostages were kidnapped and taken to the Gaza Strip. This was reported by Times of Israel Referring to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
According to IDF spokesman Brigadier General Daniel Hagari, the military has notified the families of the 229 hostages that their loved ones are currently being held in the Gaza Strip.
Before this, Abu Hamid, the representative of the Palestinian movement delegation in Moscow stated Kommersant newspaper wrote that Hamas will not release the hostages until a ceasefire is reached. According to him, Hamas had communicated its intention to release “civilian detainees” since the first days of the war, but needed time to find everyone who arrived in the Gaza Strip on October 7.
26 October Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs reportedIt was stated that the Russian side discussed the release of hostages and the evacuation of Russians from the Gaza Strip at the meeting with representatives of the Palestinian Hamas movement in Moscow.
Israeli officials had previously stated that they would refuse to conduct a ground operation if Hamas “surrendered unconditionally” and released the hostages; details are in the material “socialbites.ca”.