Two Tanzanians and a South African are among the 224 hostages being held by Hamas after the 7 October attacks in Israel, the Israeli government says. None of the three have been named. Tanzania’s ambassador to Israel has confirmed that two of its citizens have been taken hostage.
The BBC has spoken to the father of one Tanzanian who has been reported missing in Israel – Joshua Mollel, who was an agriculture student on a kibbutz that was targeted. He told the BBC on Thursday he still had not had any update on the fate of his son.
Earlier in the week, he said they had not spoken since 5 October – two days before the attack – and that the whole family were sick with worry. “We can’t eat or sleep when I go to the market people ask me why I’m losing so much weight,” he said on Sunday.
The South African authorities have not commented on the report that one of its citizens is among the hostages. Foreigners from 25 countries in all are being held by Hamas, Israel says. They make up 135 of the 224 being held – the largest number, 54, are from Thailand.
They were taken when militants from Hamas – which Israel, the UK, US and other powers class as a terrorist organisation – crossed into Israel from Gaza killing at least 1,400 people. Israel has since retaliated with air strikes on Gaza, which the Hamas-run health ministry says have killed almost 6,500 people.
Source: BBC