Polls in the wake of Oct. 7 that showed most Palestinians approved of the attack sowed anger in Israel. Videos of Gazans crowding around hostages in the immediate aftermath of the raid, filming them on their mobile phones, spitting on them and beating them also fuelled lasting resentment.

A Health Ministry report described the systematic starvation, as well as physical and emotional torture, carried out by Hamas terrorists on hostages released from Gaza earlier this year. The lives of the remaining living hostages in Gaza captivity are under immediate threat due to physical and mental torture perpetrated by their Hamas captors,

New images of emaciated Israeli hostages held in Gaza have horrified Israelis and added pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach a ceasefire with Hamas.