France is working to free “all French people who have disappeared or who are hostages,” Catherine Colonna, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, assured Tuesday.
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Three young French people, aged 12 to 16 and held in the Gaza Strip, were released by Hamas on Monday, November 27. This release took place within the framework of an agreement between the Palestinian Islamist movement and Israel, with the mediation of Qatar, the United States and Egypt.
Five French or dual nationals now remain missing or hostages of Hamas. Franceinfo details what we know about their situation.
Two relatives of the hostages already released and three participants in the techno music festival
The identities of French nationals missing since the terrorist attacks of October 7 are known. Here’s what we know about it.
Ofer Kalderon, 53, is the father of Erez and Sahar, who were released on Monday. On the day of the attack, they were in Kibbutz Nir Oz, located two kilometers from the Gaza Strip.
Ohad Yahalomi, a 49-year-old Franco-Israeli, is the father of Eitan, who was also released on Monday. He is missing after being injured in the attack, according to testimony from Eitan’s mother, Bat-Sheva.
Mia Schem, 21, appeared captive on a video released by Hamas on October 16. In this sequence filmed under duress, the young woman said she was injured in the arm and was in Gaza. She was kidnapped by the terrorists while at the Tribe of Nova techno music festival in the Negev desert, attended by more than 3,000 people.
Elya Toledano27, is a friend of Mia Schem. “We remain fully mobilized to obtain the release of Elya Toledano and Mia Shem” whose fate remains hanging in the balance “bargaining” of Hamas which makes the wait “unsustainable” for their loved ones, commented Sacha Ghozlan, lawyer for several hostage families.
Orion Hernandez-Radoux, a 30-year-old Franco-Mexican tourist, was also at the Tribe of Nova festival. He had gone there with a German friend, Shani Louk, who was killed by the Islamists, her mother announced to the German media NTV. During the Hamas attack, Orion Hernandez-Radoux first appeared to have managed to escape by car with another friend, his mother told Parisian. “We don’t know how, but we know they were separatedshe said. His friend was found dead three days later, and he was taken to Gaza.”
A status of missing persons or hostages on which France remains discreet
Are these five French nationals all alive and captive? Impossible to know for sure. Radio guest RTL On Tuesday, Catherine Colonna deliberately remained evasive on the subject. France is working to free “all the other French people who have disappeared or who are hostages”assured the Minister of Foreign Affairs. “We must be able to find them, give them their freedom, return them to their families”, she added. Why then continue to distinguish between missing persons and presumed hostages?
“We make this distinction out of caution each time we talk about it. Indeed, we have received proof of life concerning certain missing French people, but not with certainty for others.”
Catherine Colonna, Minister of Foreign Affairson RTL
“It is prudent to speak of ‘disappeared or hostages’ – hoping of course that all are hostages, and called to be released as quickly as possible”continued the head of French diplomacy. “We are fully mobilized for this.” Asked about the number of French people held hostage, Catherine Colonna also dismissed the question: “We don’t want to say that.”
A vagueness on possible detentions by groups other than Hamas
Qatar said on Monday that around forty hostages present in Gaza were not being held by Hamas, but by Islamic Jihad and other armed factions. Asked about this subject, Catherine Colonna mentioned “other individuals who committed abominable abuses”. Are French people among these people who would not find themselves in the hands of Hamas? “We can’t say everything. We shouldn’t say everything”, replied the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Whether or not it holds the hostages present in the Palestinian enclave, Hamas has the responsibility to hand them over to Israel. “He is the interlocutor of Qatar, of Israel, it is up to him to bring them together, to free them and to ensure that everything goes well, in good health conditions”explained Catherine Colonna again.