The screams of joy from the mother of Erez and Sahar Kalderon, two French-Israeli youths aged 12 and 16 freed by Hamas on Monday, certainly gave hope to families still waiting for the return of their loved ones. In addition to the two Kalderon children and 12-year-old Eitan Yahalomi, who was also released by the Islamist movement, five French nationals remain missing, potentially held hostage in the Gaza Strip.
"I think of those who are still being held hostage. As you know, we still have five missing Frenchmen and we are mobilizing for the release of all the hostages and all our compatriots. We will not relax our efforts," said Catherine Colonna after expressing her relief at having learned of the release of the three young Frenchmen.
Catherine Colonna (Minister of Foreign Affairs) on the release of Hamas hostages: "It is the number one priority of the France to free our compatriots"pic.twitter.com/828EFGHalM
— BFMTV (@BFMTV) November 27, 2023
The joy was not complete for the Kalderon and Yahalomi families. The fathers of the three children, Ofer Kalderon, 53, and Ohad Yahalomi, 49, who were also captured on October 7, were not among the group of hostages released on Monday, as the agreement reached with Hamas does not provide for the release of adult men held in Gaza for the time being.
"It's a joy that is incomplete," because Erez and Sahar's father "remains in the hands of Hamas at this time," Patrick Klugman, a lawyer for the families of the French disappeared, said in an interview. "Nothing is known about the conditions of Ofer Kalderon's detention. If it's in a tunnel or somewhere else," he added on BFMTV.
Read alsoSahar "the sensitive", Eliya and "her smile"... the lives of French suspected hostages of Hamas
The whereabouts of 27-year-old Eliya Toledano, who has not been heard from since a message sent on the morning of October 7 while at the Tribe of Nova festival, remains unclear. Among the missing adult men is 32-year-old Orión Hernández Radoux, who was also present at the festival. The family of the French-Mexican father of a young child said they came across someone speaking Arabic by dialing his mobile number shortly after his disappearance, suggesting he was in the hands of Hamas.
The only French woman whose hostage status has been confirmed, 21-year-old Mia Schem, completes this terrible list. Kidnapped at the festival in southern Israel, the young woman appeared in mid-October in a propaganda video released by Hamas, her arm in a sling and her eyes reddened.
'There are too many hostages left'
"We remain fully mobilized to obtain the release of Elya Toledano and Mia Shem," whose fate hangs on Hamas' "bargaining" that makes the wait "unbearable" for their relatives, said Sacha Ghozlan, another lawyer for the families.
The releases bring to 50 the number of Israeli hostages released since Friday. About 180 hostages are believed to still be in the hands of Hamas, according to Tel Aviv. "There are still too many hostages held by Hamas and this situation must continue to mobilize us," Klugman said.
Qatar, which has been mediating since the beginning of the conflict, said on Monday it would extend the truce, which was originally scheduled to end at 7 a.m. on Tuesday, for two more days. Israel, however, had not confirmed the report as of Monday.