‘We’re at a very critical time’: former FBI negotiator on freeing hostages from Hamas

A former FBI hostage negotiator said it's important to exhaust all non-violent options before attempting a rescue because attempts present the most risk to hostages.

Hamas’s deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel claimed the lives of roughly 1,400 people.

Hamas initially appeared to have captured around 100 hostages, but that estimate has grown to around 200 –as has the number of groups who may be holding captives from the raid. Palestinian Islamic Jihad has claimed they are also holding around 30 hostages captured in Israel.

Only two people have been freed so far.

A former FBI hostage negotiator says the key to getting hostages back safely is negotiating for each person separately.

He said there are different reasons for treating each negotiation – and each hostage – separately.

First, it can reinforce the captives’ humanity with the captors.

“I think probably, after three weeks of being held, the hostage taker started to identify or connect with the hostages in some way. And to the degree that we can remind people that these are human beings… that makes it a little more difficult to do… those horrible acts of violence that was committed against others.”

“One of the things that we saw in the release of (Judith Tai Raanan and daughter Natalie, the first two hostages freed is that) it was pitched as humanitarian reasons,” Andrew told Stephenson.