From Hostage to Human Trafficked — Part Four

The Hostage Crisis of October 7^th

As the aftermath of the October 7^th attack continues to unfold, pieces of the puzzle have begun to come together. One fighter was found with a notebook that contained Quranic verses with orders to “kill as many people and take as many hostages as possible.”^[1]  The escalation of Hamas’ attack was planned to develop into a large-scale, region-wide operation; however, the expectation by Hamas was that their intrusion would’ve been thwarted earlier than it was. Specifically, Hamas expected higher Israeli resistance and was surprised by its own increased advances.^[2]

Exploitation, however, may take forms other than economic exploitation. Hamas did expect to gain hostages. The question remains as to why Hamas took hostages. The Chatham House, an International Affairs Think Tank, presents five likely reasons why Hamas took hostages on October 7^th.^[3]

First, the use of hostages as so-called ‘human shields’ would cause Israeli Defense Forces to think twice before retaliation.^[4] This furthers the capability for utilizing hostages as a bargaining chip under the 5^th human trafficking paradigm element of extortion.

Second, Hamas is likely using the hostages as an insurance policy or bargaining chip for Israel to comply with their demands.^[5]

The third reason would be for media opportunities.^[6] The world seeing the pleas of hostages and the continued ability to hold and control so many hostages shows the perceived strength of Hamas and allows them to control the narrative.

The fourth reason Hamas took hostages was for a multinational impact. Hostages taken from Israel included those of foreign nationalities. The breakdown of hostage numbers by nationalities is: 12 Argentinians, 12 Germans, 12 Americans, 6 French, 6 Russian, 54 Thai Nationals, 5 Nepalese, 1 Chinese, 1 Sri Lankan, 2 Tanzanian, and 2 Filipinos.^[7]

Fifth and lastly, hostage taking invokes complete and utter terror, impacting not only the hostages, their families, and Israel but the entire world, exemplifying emotional exploitation and control.^[8]

What the world knows about hostage life in Gaza has come largely from stories of released hostages. While the world knows that Hamas fighters were told to take as many hostages as possible, the hostage’s journey back to Gaza and the living conditions there are largely being told through testimony of hostages as they can recollect the events of their capture. The videos shown to the world shortly after the aftermath of October 7^th showed men and women being forcefully taken, bloodied, and broken into Gaza on motorcycles, golf carts, and truck beds.^[9] These individuals were separated from their loved ones and held in horrific conditions.

While we know Hamas fighters took hostages, what about Gazan civilians acting as facilitators for Hamas? According to released hostage Nili Margalit’s testimony, she was captured from the safe room of her house by what she described as “civilians armed with Kalashnikovs” (a type of firearm)^[10] and covered in a white sheet.^[11] She was driven by a golf cart and later transferred to a car as she was driven into it.[12] Once [Hamas] paid, [she] was taken straight into a tunnel.”^[13] Once in the tunnel, she was put into a small room with a dozen or so other hostages and given small rations of rice and bread.^[14] Margalit was released as part of a hostage exchange and continues to share her story and advocate for the release of hostages.[15]

The tragic story of Margalit is unfortunately similar to that of others, according to released hostage Noa Argamani, who was taken from the Re’im Music Festival and is a familiar face to anyone who watched the news clips of the October 7^th attack. Noa and her boyfriend were being taken away, separately, on motorbikes while pleading not to be killed.^[16]Noa was kept in apartments, and, on the rare occasions she was allowed to go outside, she was forced to go out disguised as an Arab woman wearing abayas and hijabs.^[17] The forcible taking, keeping, and exploitation of Noa satisfies the Human Trafficking paradigm by proving (1) her abduction, (2) her transportation from Israel to Gaza, (3) being bartered/sold to Hamas, and (4) being ultimately exploited as a Hostage by Hamas. Also, the mistreatment Noa was subjected to while being a hostage furthers the Human Trafficking scheme.

Based on the stories of released hostages and reports from the Israeli Defense Force, it has been confirmed that “Hamas has systematically used Gazan civilian homes to hold and hide hostages.”[18] One of the most highly publicized reports was the confirmation that three hostages were held by Abdallah Aljamal, a Hamas operative and news contributor, in his home.^[19] A multitude of reports have shown shafts to Hamas’ spider web-like network of underground tunnels leading into Gazan civilian homes, hospitals, and schools, furthering Hamas’ ability to conceal hostages and utilize psychological terror on the hostages who are held there.^[20] This, again, is a reflection of the control issue associated with the Human Trafficking paradigm.

As more hostages are released through the beginning 2025 ceasefire agreements, more stories similar to the ones above will emerge. There have been at least nineteen released hostages since February 2025, not including the bodies of murdered civilians that were turned over to the IDF after being kept for nearly 500 days in captivity.[21] Emily Damari, who lost two fingers in the October 7^th attack, discussed her confinement conditions in the underground tunnels noting the lack of daylight, fresh air, and basic necessities.[22] Former hostage Karina Ariev recounted food deprivation, forced labor, isolation, lack of medical care, and forced took and clean for their Hamas captors.[23] Most notably was the release of Naama Levy, a 20-year-old IDF soldier, who was pictured being abducted during the attack in blood covered grey sweatpants, slashed ankles, and struggling to walk.[24] This image shocked the world and remained a symbol of horror of the tragic day. Naama was released on January 25, 2025, and recounts the blessing of being held captive with her friends who “gave [her] strength and hope.”[25]

These stories are just a few representations of the horror, torture, and brutal conditions Hamas subjected the hostages to who were taken on October 7^, 2023. To the lost and to the returned, Israel has adopted the Jewish phrase, “may their memory forever be a blessing,” to recount the lives impacted from this egregious attack.

Is Hostage Taking a New Form of Human Trafficking?

One of the significant issues with Hamas’ taking of hostages is that they do not fit into a predesignated group that an international convention has previously addressed.[26] As previously mentioned, international conventions have ratified policies enforcing nation states’ humanitarian treatment of civilians and individuals not participating in current conflict.[27] However, Hamas is not a state, it is a politically motivated terrorist group.[28] Although International Humanitarian Law (IHL) “imposes obligations not only on states but also on non-state actors,” it is hard to identify and/or classify obligations that would hold Hamas responsible to the IHL.[29] In the aftermath of October 7, 2023, the United Nations put out a statement that stated “We strongly condemn the horrific crimes committed by Hamas, the deliberate and widespread killing and hostage-taking of innocent civilians including older persons and children. These actions constitute heinous violations of international law and international crimes, for which there must be urgent accountability.”^[30] While dozens of nations have collectively condemned the brutality of Hamas’ actions, they cannot do more than verbally condemn the actions since Hamas is not an operating State.[31]

Because Hostages do not fit into a state solution for return, we turn to see if designating the hostages as victims of human trafficking would be appropriate. As previously mentioned, the five elements of human trafficking include: (1) recruitment, (2) abduction, (3) transporting, (4) harboring, (5) transfer.^[32]

First, is the recruitment process, which can take place voluntarily or by force.^[33] Recruitment can manifest itself in a variety of ways, however, with the October 7^th case in particular, it could be through means of forced removal or abduction.

This leads to the second point of abduction. “By definition, no one consents to abduction,” but other factors such as deception and various levels of violence can be incorporated into the abduction process.^[34] In the case of October 7^th, no hostage went willingly. In nearly all footage released, you see hostages being taken bloodied and bruised, crying and pleading for mercy and safety, none of which depict a willingness or want to be taken away from their friends, family, home, or country.

Third is transporting. One definition by Dutch researchers relating to human trafficking included transportation “within and across national borders for work or services using violence or threat of violence, abuse of authority, or dominant position, debt, bondage, deception or other forms of coercion.”^[35] For October 7^th, Hamas took people from Israel using golf carts, bikes, trucks, and other modes of transportation into Gaza, crossing the Israel-Palestine border dividing the two States.

 Fourth is harboring. As mentioned in the last section, it has been proven by the Israeli Defense Forces that Gazan civilians were and likely still are keeping hostages in their homes or the tunnels beneath their homes for the benefit of Hamas.[36] We also know that Hamas, as an organization, is keeping hostages in the tunnels beneath the city.[37]

Lastly, the fifth element is transfer. The element of transfer can be defined much more broadly than the Oxford Dictionary definition of “an act of moving something or someone to another place.”[38] Although the hostages are being moved, the element of transfer can go to an element of exploitation. According to the International Organization for Migration, “‘Trafficking in persons’ shall mean the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, utilizing threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power of a position of vulnerability, or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labor or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs.”^[39] Because the element of transfer can include exploitation along with the sale and receipt of persons, the hostage-taking on October 7^th would accurately constitute a transfer. It has been previously discussed that Gazan civilians took hostages on October 7^th and sold them to Hamas. On a more basic level, however, is the issue surrounding the exploitation of the hostages on the international stage. Hostages have been used as a bargaining chip to not only deter Israeli Forces from bombing, fighting, and entering Gaza, but have also been used for psychological tactics to show the power that Hamas still holds over Israel and the rest of the world.[40] Hostages have also been used as a bargaining chip to force Israel and its supporters to negotiate with Hamas on Hamas’ set terms and to release Palestinian prisoners to Hamas.[41]

Ultimately, with regard to the five elements of a human trafficking scheme, the hostage-taking of people out of Israel and into Gaza by Hamas accurately depicts a human trafficking scheme. Ironically, however, a November 2022 article released by the United Nations depicts the State of Palestine to be a leader for the prevention of human trafficking crimes in an article released entitled Palestine: Paving the Way to End Human Trafficking.^[42] The article discusses the need for advocating for strengthening community-based prevention and better protection of victims, raising awareness among the public, and calls for the promotion of these ideas to be promoted through cooperation between Palestine and neighboring countries.^[43] Again, although the attack on Israel was conducted by Hamas operating within Palestine, it is interesting that the State of Palestine is calling for neighboring assistance to prevent the continuation of human-trafficking in the area from their neighbors, which would include Israel, whose citizens are being held captive within their State. This initiative should also include a release of hostages and desisting from any further political exploitation of them.

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[1] Shira Rubin, et. al., Hamas Envisioned Deeper Attacks, Aiming to Provoke an Israeli War, WASH. POST, (Oct. 14, 2024, 2:45 PM), https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/11/12/hamas-planning-terror-gaza-israel/.

[2] Id.

[3] Chatham House, supra note 6.

[4] Id.

[5] Id.

[6] Id.

[7] Id.

[8] More Than Half of Hamas’ Hostages Have Foreign Nationality – Israel, Reuters, (Oct. 25, 2024, 6:40 PM), https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/more-than-half-hamas-hostages-have-foreign-nationality-israel-2023-10-25/.

[9] TOI Staff, Freed Hostage Says She Was Abducted by Armed Gaza Civilians, Sold to Hamas, The Times of Israel, (Oct. 15, 2024, 10:15 AM), https://www.timesofisrael.com/freed-gaza-hostage-says-she-was-abducted-by-armed-civilians-sold-to-hamas/.

[10] Id.

[11] Id.

[12] Id.

[13] Id.

[14] Id.

[15] Id.

[16] The Untold Captivity Story of Noa Argamani, International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, (Oct. 26, 2024, 2:33 PM), https://www.ifcj.org/news/stand-for-israel-blog/the-untold-captivity-story-of-noa-argamani

[17] Id.

[18] Seth Frantzman, What Are the Implications of Hamas Holding Hostages in Gaza Civilian Homes? – Analysis, The Jerusalem Post, (Oct. 26, 2024, 2:00 PM), https://www.jpost.com/israel-hamas-war/article-805685.

[19] Id.

[20] Id.

[21] Freed Israeli Hostages: What They Endured in Captivity and How They Survived, American Jewish Committee (Feb. 17, 2025), https://www.ajc.org/news/freed-israeli-hostages-what-they-endured-in-captivity-and-how-they-survived

[22] Id.

[23] Id.

[24] Rachel Wolf, Former Hamas Hostage Naama Levy Breaks Silence in First Message Since Her Relase, FOX News, (Feb. 17, 2025), https://ijhpr.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13584-024-00651-7#:~:text=More%20than%201%2C300%20Israelis%20were,University%20Medical%20Center%20(SUMC).

[25] Supra, note 129.

[26] How Does Law Protect In War?,  (Nov. 1, 2024), https://casebook.icrc.org/law/civilian-population.

[27] Geneva Convention, United Nations Human Rights, supra note 9.

[28] Sigall Horovitz, Accountability of Hamas under International Humanitarian Law, JCPA, https://jcpa.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Accountability_of_Hamas_Under_International_Humanitarian_Law.pdf

[29] Id.

[30] Israel/Occupied Palestinian Territory: UN Experts Deplore Attacks on Civilians, Call for Truce and Urge International Community to Address Root Causes of Violence. U.N. Hum. Rts, (Nov. 3, 2024, 12:49PM), https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/10/israeloccupied-palestinian-territory-un-experts-deplore-attacks-civilians.

[31] Sigall Horovitz, supra note 132.

[32] International Organization for Migration, supra note 22.

[33] Id.

[34] Id. at 103

[35] Id. at 106.

[36] Reuters, How Hamas Duped Israel as it Planned Devastating Attack, supra note 80.

[37] Id.

[38]Transfer, Oxford English Dictionary, https://www.oed.com/dictionary/transfer_n?tab=meaning_and_use#17934758

[39]Id. at 31.

[40] Yossi Levi-Belz, et. al., PTSD, Depression, and Anxiety after the October 7, 2023, Attack in Israel: a nationwide prospective study, National Library of Medicine (Jan. 5, 2024), https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(23)00595-3/fulltext

[41]Rachel Briggs, supra note 6.

[42] Palestine: Paving the Way to End Human Trafficking, United Nations, (Nov. 3, 2024, 1:31 PM), https://www.unodc.org/romena/en/Stories/2022/November/palestine_-paving-the-way-to-end-human-trafficking.html.

[43] Id.