I say this, since the Western news media seems to have stopped pretending to care about a pretence of neutrality and bringing up human shields and the "savage Islamic radical hordes" again...
Idc if it's IDF soldiers and political figures they're only capturing, but it seems to also include settler civilians, specifically some women, others elderly, and a few youths (may or may not be teens).
It's an unknown amount, but it seems like a lot more than some dozens
What the hell do they need them for? As a bargaining chip?
Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/dna-prayers-israelis-desperate-word-missing-kin-hamas-attack-2023-10-08/
Edit 1: What if they left the collaborator settler "civilians" alone, but kept the important political and military figures with them
Edit 2: On second thoughts, the settlers can seem to be indirectly, if not fully committed to this settler-colonial project, considering by the presence of paramilitaries and settling alone...
What about knowledge of closest military locations to them? or anything miscellaneous they might use to get some of the Resistance whacked...
I mean, sure. But given the state of things during in a warzone, what they'd know is kinds useless until they can get it to to the IDF, and then the IDF has to consider if the intel is legit or missinfo.
For all I know, they're not just begging for intel, no matter what... (just look on the news for the alleged 40 beheaded Israeli babies)
Its not a matter of "begging"... its a matter of battlefield intelligence gathering and how commanders respond to it.
There isn't time to vet and verify and it will all depend on the what is actually happening and the mood of the command staff receiving the intel. If they're tired, burned out... they might not care if some rando walks up ranting about an armored column they ran away from that is just over the hill. If they're amped up and jittery, they might jump at every little thing somebody brings to them, spreading out forces, tying up communications lines, exhausting forces who needed to be rotated for rest periods.
The babies thing isn't intelligence gathering, its propaganda.
Hmm, I mean, whatever sticks, I suppose, to the Israeli command staff... as long as the propaganda and military data seems believable enough to them...
Note: I must ask, are you thinking from a theoretical standpoint or from a bit of experience? From how you're talking, seems to create the impression of the latter...
Many years ago I was a part of the US's imperial military. I was a part of the invasion forces into Iraq in '03 and the first year of occupation, so a touch of experience.