Former Hamas hostage dies as 2024 nears end with 100 people, seven of whom are Americans, still held in Gaza

Hanna Katzir, a 77-year-old woman who was released by Hamas in 2023 as part of a cease-fire agreement after being kidnapped on October 7. The Nir Oz community in southern Israel, where Katzir resided and from where she was abducted, said she died as a result of her deteriorating health from the suffering she had endured since the massacre.

After returning to Israel, Katzir discovered that her husband Rami, 79, had been killed, and that her son Elad, 47, was still being held in the Gaza Strip. However, in April this year, the Israeli Army reported that Elad had been killed by Palestinian terrorists. His body was found in the Gaza town of Khan Younis.

Carmit Palti Katzir, her daughter, said: "Mom was a loving and dedicated woman, wife and mother, everything about her was love. Her heart could not bear the terrible suffering since October 7," noted Israeli newspaper Ynet.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also referred to Katzir's death. "My wife Sara and I deeply regret the passing of Hanna Katzir, who died after a year of fighting for her life. We managed to bring back Hanna, who was cruelly kidnapped by Hamas on October 7, but her body and soul bore the scars of horror until her last day. We embrace the Katzir family and are committed to doing everything we can, tirelessly, until we bring all our hostages back home."

Threats to Hamas from Trump and incoming Homeland Security Secretary Mike Waltz

President-elect Donald Trump issued a strong threat against the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas in early December, stating that if the hostages being held in the Gaza Strip are not released before the day he takes office, there will be "hell" in the Middle East.

In a recent interview with conservative U.S. host Ben Shapiro, Republican Rep. Mike Waltz, who was appointed by President-elect Donald Trump as National Security Advisor for his administration, warned Hamas that the incoming administration would adopt a zero-tolerance policy regarding the hostages.

Waltz warned that for the incoming administration, "if you take an American (...) There are going to be nothing but consequences for you financially, and maybe even a bullet in your damn forehead."

"If the bad guys are incentivized to take more because they keep getting more, then they’re going to keep doing it. If the bad guys feel nothing but cost and pain for taking our people, they’re going to stop doing it," the incoming Homeland Security advisor added.

Waltz further indicated that Trump will have no interest in negotiating the release of the Americans.

One hundred people are still being held by Hamas and other terror groups in Gaza

During the October 7 massacre, in which more than 1,200 people were brutally murdered, 251 Israelis and foreigners were kidnapped by Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist groups and forcibly taken to the Gaza Strip. Since then, 117 have returned to Israel alive as part of cease-fire agreements and another eight after being rescued in heroic army operations. In addition, Israeli forces brought back to Israel the bodies of 38 hostages, most of whom were killed by Palestinian terrorists, while a handful lost their lives as a result of fighting in the war.

An estimated 96 people kidnapped on October 7 still remain in Gaza, two Israelis who have been held hostage since years before the massacre after crossing into the Strip by their own means, as well as the bodies of two soldiers killed in the 2014 Operation Protective Edge against terrorists in Gaza.

According to Israeli officials, seven of the 100 hostages believed to still be in Gaza have U.S. citizenship, although only three of them are believed to still be alive, indicated Israeli newspaper The Times of Israel.