IntelBrief: The Hostage Situation in Gaza Adds Layers of Complexity to the Conflict

Bottom Line Up Front

• An already tense and complex situation is made far more complicated by the presence of an unknown number of hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza following last Saturday’s devastating terrorist attack in Israel.
• According to National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications John Kirby, of the seventeen Americans currently unaccounted for after the attack, the number that the Biden administration believes are currently being held by Hamas is “very small—like less than a handful.”
• An estimated 500 to 600 U.S. citizens live in Gaza, with some currently seeking safe passage out, most likely through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt.
• The hostage portfolio could well turn out to be the impetus for modest yet still important progress on humanitarian issues, at least as a starting point to alleviate some civilian suffering.