Israel’s Hostages Families Forum calls for renewed efforts to free hostages in Gaza
Israel’s Hostages Families Forum called for renewed efforts to free the remaining hostages held in Gaza on Saturday, following the Israeli military’s claim that it had killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
“And now, to the most important mission, after a year’s delay: returning all the hostages home,” the organization wrote in a post on X.
As escalating attacks between Israel and Hezbollah over the past week have dominated news coverage and political attention, the families of the hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza have expressed dismay that government’s efforts to secure the release of their loved ones is being overshadowed.
The number of Israeli captives still in the enclave stands at 101, including 35 believed to be dead, according to data from the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office.
The Israeli military has claimed that the group’s chain of command “has been almost completely dismantled” after it killed a series of what it says are top officials in the organization this week.
The chain of command is not publicly known, however, and CNN cannot independently verify Israel’s claims.
“Hezbollah has taken the biggest blow to its military infrastructure since its inception. In addition to losing weapon depots and facilities, the group has lost most of its senior commanders, and its communications network is broken,” said Hanin Ghaddar, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute and author of “Hezbollahland.”
Despite its losses however, the group still retains skilled commanders and many of its most powerful assets, including precision-guided missiles and long-range missiles that could inflict significant damage to Israel’s military and civilian infrastructure, said Ghaddar. Most of those missiles haven’t been deployed yet.
Since Israel stepped up its campaign, Hezbollah’s military performance “has proven that it was able to absorb that shock and was able to bounce back and it has been striking hard at northern Israel for days now,” said Amal Saad, Hezbollah expert and lecturer in politics and international relations at Cardiff University in Wales.
On Wednesday, Israel intercepted a ballistic missile fired by Hezbollah near Tel Aviv, an unprecedented attack that reached deep into the country’s commercial heartland. Hezbollah said it targeted the headquarters of Israel’s intelligence agency.
