Kidnapping and Hostages – War Watch

Blacklisting | Danon, Danny (1971- ) | Defense and Military Forces | Gaza Strip | Hamas | Iran | Iran's nuclear programme | Israel | Israel-Gaza War (2023- ) | Israel–Iran War | Kidnapping and Hostages | Netanyahu, Benjamin | Palestinians | Prisoners of War | Rapid Support Forces (Sudan) | Russia | Russian Invasion of Ukraine (2022) | Sex Crimes | Sudan | Ukraine | United Nations

U.N. Adds Israeli and Russian Forces to Sexual Violence List
ByAlan Yuhas May 29, 2026

Israel has denied the accusations and condemned the report, which listed dozens of countries and nonstate groups as “credibly suspected” of patterns of rape and sexual violence.

Read More U.N. Adds Israeli and Russian Forces to Sexual Violence List
Defense and Military Forces | Gaza Strip | Gender | Hamas | International Relations | Iran | Iran's nuclear programme | Israel | Israel–Iran War | Kidnapping and Hostages | Sex Crimes | Torture | United Nations | War Crimes, Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity | West Bank | Witnesses

Israeli Report Finds That Sexual Violence by Hamas Was Widespread
ByIsabel Kershner May 12, 2026May 12, 2026

A two-year investigation by a team of researchers in Israel concluded that sexual violence by Hamas and its allies was widespread during and after the Oct. 7, 2023, attack.

Read More Israeli Report Finds That Sexual Violence by Hamas Was Widespread
Bennett, Naftali | Gaza Strip | Hamas | Iran | Iran's nuclear programme | Israel | Israel-Gaza War (2023- ) | Israel–Iran War | Kidnapping and Hostages | Lapid, Yair | Legislatures and Parliaments | Netanyahu, Benjamin | Politics and Government

Former Hostage Calls on All of Israel’s Government to Resign
ByEphrat Livni May 11, 2026May 12, 2026

Rom Braslavski, who said he had endured starvation, torture and sexual abuse during two-year captivity, demanded that members “take responsibility and get out of our lives.”

Read More Former Hostage Calls on All of Israel’s Government to Resign
Books and Literature | Content Type: Personal Profile | Goldberg-Polin, Hersh | Goldberg-Polin, Rachel | Hamas | Iran | Iran's nuclear programme | Israel | Israel-Gaza War (2023- ) | Israel–Iran War | Kidnapping and Hostages | Polin, Jon | Terrorism | When We See You Again (Book)

Book Review: ‘When We See You Again,’ by Rachel Goldberg-Polin
ByAlexandra Jacobs April 19, 2026April 20, 2026

Rachel Goldberg-Polin’s precise and devastating memoir chronicles the 328 days her son was held hostage in Gaza, and what came after.

Read More Book Review: ‘When We See You Again,’ by Rachel Goldberg-Polin
Conservatism (US Politics) | Deportation | Homeland Security Department | Immigration and Customs Enforcement (US) | Iran | Iran's nuclear programme | Israel | Israel–Iran War | Kidnapping and Hostages | Los Angeles (Calif) | Rubio, Marco | State Department | Trump, Donald J | United States International Relations | United States Politics and Government | US and Israeli Attack on Iran (2026)

U.S. Moves to Deport Son of Prominent Figure in Iranian Revolution
ByMichael Crowley April 11, 2026April 11, 2026

Federal agents arrested a man whose mother served as a spokeswoman for the Islamist embassy captors during the hostage crisis that began in 1979.

Read More U.S. Moves to Deport Son of Prominent Figure in Iranian Revolution
Carter, Jimmy | Iran | Iran-Contra Affair | Iran's nuclear programme | Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps | Israel | Israel–Iran War | Kidnapping and Hostages | Nuclear weapons | Pakistan | Trump, Donald J | US and Israeli Attack on Iran (2026) | Vance, Cyrus R Jr | War and Armed Conflicts

U.S.-Iran Talks Timeline: Key Moments Between Two Adversaries
ByPranav Baskar April 11, 2026April 12, 2026

From sanctions relief to nuclear talks, here’s a look at how negotiations between Washington and Tehran have gone over the decades.

Read More U.S.-Iran Talks Timeline: Key Moments Between Two Adversaries
Iran | Iran's nuclear programme | Israel | Israel–Iran War | Kidnapping and Hostages | live-detached | Political Prisoners | Tehran (Iran) | US and Israeli Attack on Iran (2026)

Freed French Citizens Return From Iran: ‘We Were State Hostages’
ByCatherine Porter and Ana Castelain April 8, 2026

Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris spent years in a Tehran prison. An Iranian court convicted them of espionage, charges that France said were baseless.

Read More Freed French Citizens Return From Iran: ‘We Were State Hostages’
internal-open-access-from-nl | Iran | Iran's nuclear programme | Iraq | Israel | Israel–Iran War | Kataib Hezbollah | Kidnapping and Hostages | Kittleson, Shelly | News and News Media | United States International Relations

Shelly Kittleson, American Journalist Abducted in Iraq, Is Freed
ByFalih Hassan, Pranav Baskar and Erika Solomon April 7, 2026April 8, 2026

The journalist, Shelly Kittleson, was abducted by a militia allied with Iran and held for a week. Iraqi officials say she was freed in exchange for the release of militia members.

Read More Shelly Kittleson, American Journalist Abducted in Iraq, Is Freed
Iran | Iran's nuclear programme | Israel | Israel–Iran War | Kidnapping and Hostages | Politics and Government | Trump, Donald J | US and Israeli Attack on Iran (2026)

Missing Airman Raises Concerns That Iran Could Gain Leverage Over the U.S.
ByYeganeh Torbati April 4, 2026April 4, 2026

Since 1979, Iran has repeatedly used Americans and Europeans detained on its territory to win concessions over more powerful adversaries.

Read More Missing Airman Raises Concerns That Iran Could Gain Leverage Over the U.S.
Alawite Muslims | Assad, Bashar al- | Iran | Iran's nuclear programme | Israel | Israel–Iran War | Kidnapping and Hostages | New York Times | Sex Crimes | Syria

In Syria, Kidnappings of Women and Girls Fuel a Minority Group’s Fears
ByBen Hubbard and Laura Boushnak April 3, 2026April 3, 2026

A Times investigation found that abductions of women and girls from Syria’s Alawite minority were more common, and more brutal, than the government has acknowledged.

Read More In Syria, Kidnappings of Women and Girls Fuel a Minority Group’s Fears