Sébastien Le Belzic (special correspondent in Tel Aviv) / Photo credit: Jalaa MAREY / AFP
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1:51 p.m., October 21, 2023
Two weeks after the Hamas attack and while two American hostages were released, Israel is preparing its ground offensive, the start of which is probably imminent. But its launch hangs on the fate of the 200 hostages, still in the hands of the Palestinian terrorist group.
Two weeks after the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, finally “a glimmer of hope” for the 200 hostages currently in Gaza, in the words of the International Committee of the Red Cross. Two American women, a mother and her daughter, were released Friday evening by the Palestinian terrorist group thanks to mediation from Qatar. If the hostage releases begin, it means that the IDF’s ground offensive on northern Gaza is likely imminent.
The Israeli Defense Minister reiterated Friday that the country is preparing an offensive in three phases. First airstrikes, that’s what’s happening now. And then a ground offensive, before the establishment of a buffer zone between Israel and Gaza to create “a new security regime”.
Hostages, main difficulty of the offensive
On the 15th day of war, one of the difficulties is these hostages, the approximately 200 people kidnapped by Hamas who serve as both bargaining chips and human shields. When IDF troops enter the Palestinian territory, they will face multiple traps, in this labyrinth of alleys that is Gaza, with its underground passages, its tunnels where the hostages are certainly hidden.
This is why negotiations are accelerating, in particular to free foreign hostages thanks to the mediation of neighboring countries such as Qatar. Palestinian civilians are being regrouped in a humanitarian zone created in the south, near Khan Younes, preparing the way for this ground offensive.