Hamas takes Israeli civilians and soldiers hostage amid attack

Military confirms Israelis’ worst fears, as videos emerge of soldiers and civilians being kidnapped by fighters from the Palestinian militant group.

In a still taken from video, a woman that has been identified on social media as Noa Argamani, is pictured being abducted by Palestinian militants in Southern Israel. Picture: Twitter

Hamas has captured a number of Israelis during its deadly attack on Israel on Saturday, the Israeli military said, as videos emerged of soldiers and civilians being taken away by fighters from the Palestinian militant group.

Countries around the world have condemned a wave of Palestinian attacks by land, sea and air that Israel’s army says left more than 200 dead. They accused fighters from the Palestinian militant group Hamas of breaking into homes and “massacring civilians”, and kidnapping Israeli soldiers and civilians during their ground incursion from Gaza on Saturday. “It’s a war crime committed by Hamas and they will pay the price,” army spokesman Daniel Hagari told journalists.

Abu Obeida, the spokesman for Hamas’s armed wing, said the group had abducted dozens of people, including Israeli army officers. He didn’t share the exact number of hostages. “They are all around the Gaza Strip, ” he said, adding a warning to Israel: “It’s better not to take any irrational decisions.”

A video appears to show Palestinian militants taking an Israeli woman hostage, hours after Hamas launched a deadly land, air and sea attack and fired a barrage of rockets at Israel. https://t.co/lQhjBxeqrcpic.twitter.com/0AoVvvxg6a

— NBC News (@NBCNews) October 7, 2023

The Israeli military said soldiers and civilians had been captured and taken into Gaza, and that most of its casualties weren’t due to rockets but close-contact fighting and “cold-blooded killings” by Hamas.

Militants held hostages in at least two Israeli towns, the authorities said.

Hamas released images of several Israelis taken captive, while Mr Hagari said “I can’t give figures about them at the moment”.

According to credible reports, most of the hostages in Gaza are women and children — the men they have killed. There are also reports that the terrorists went house to house raping women in Sderot and are raping the Israeli women in Gaza.

pic.twitter.com/7HmGM6OrdL

— Brooke Goldstein (@GoldsteinBrooke) October 7, 2023

Army spokesman Richard Hecht said there was also a “severe hostage situation” in the Negev desert communities of Beeri and Ofakim east of Gaza.

Some attendees of the Israeli outdoor music festival Nova Festival have also been confirmed as taken hostage, with one being identified as a German-Israeli dual-national.

According to CNN, attendee Shani Louk was taken hostage by Hamas forces near Kibbutz Re’im, close to the Gaza Strip.

Thousands were urged to evacuate the ‘nature party’ as rockets travelled overhead targeting Tel Aviv, Rehovot, Gedera and Ashkelon.

Ms Louk appeared in a video seemingly filmed by Hamas forces in which she is unconscious or unresponsive and being physically mistreated by soldiers.

Ms Louk’s mother Ricarda Louk appealed for help in a video posted by the German news outlet Bild.

Shani Louk, a German national, is believed to have been killed by Palestinian militants during their large scale incursion into Israel. Picture: Instagram

“We were sent a video in which I could clearly see our daughter unconscious in the car with the Palestinians and them driving around the Gaza Strip,” Ricarda Louk said.

“I ask you to send us any help or any news.”

A spokesperson from the German foreign ministry told CNN they were “in close contact with the Israeli authorities in order to clarify whether and to what extent German citizens are affected”.

Both civilians as well as soldiers appear to have been treated with exceptional brutality by Hamas. Another video circulating on social media shows a young Israeli woman being held at gunpoint, her hands bound behind her, forced into a jeep by fighters while others cheer.

Noa was partying in the south of Israel in a peace music festival when Hams terrorists kidnapped her and dragged her from Israel into Gaza.

Noa is held hostage by Hamas.

She could be your daughter, sister, friend.#BringBackOurFamilypic.twitter.com/gi2AStVdTQ

— Hen Mazzig (@HenMazzig) October 7, 2023

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said “this horrific violence must stop immediately. “News of civilians taken as hostages in their homes or to Gaza are appalling. This is against international law. Hostages must be released immediately”.

With Wall Street Journal, AFP