More than a year after Hamas attacked southern Israel on 7 October 2023 – killing around 1,200 people and taking another 250 captive – around 85 hostages remain, although Israel believes around a third are dead.
A ceasefire deal currently in place promises the release of the hostages held by Hamas and other Palestinian militant factions in Gaza.
The first stage of the ceasefire will last six weeks and see “a full and complete ceasefire” while 33 hostages in Gaza and up to 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israel will be freed. The hostages released will include women, the elderly and the sick.
Israeli government spokesman David Mencer said all but eight of the 33 were thought to be alive.
In the second stage, the remaining living hostages, including men, would be released in return for more Palestinian prisoners.
Hamas has said it will not release the remaining captives without a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal.
The first three hostages, Romi Gonen, 24, Doron Steinbrecher, 31, and Emily Damari, 28, were released on 19 January, alongside 90 Palestinian prisoners detained in Israeli jails. Four more hostages were released on 25 January – female Israeli soldiers Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy and Liri Albag – in exchange for 200 Palestinian prisoners who were being kept in Israeli jails.
On 30 January, Israeli soldier Agam Berger, 20, Arbel Yehoud, 29, and Gadi Moses, an 80-year-old man were released.
Ms Yehoud was believed to be the last remaining female civilian held hostage in Gaza. Another civilian woman, mother Shiri Bibas, remains in Gaza but the Israeli military has expressed grave concern for her life.
Israel refused to open the Netzarim corridor to northern Gaza on 25 January, as scheduled, after Hamas declined to include Ms Yehoud in that day’s swap. After US, Egyptian and Qatari mediation, it was agreed Ms Yehoud would be swapped a few days later, breaking the tradition of the exchanges taking place on the weekends. The corridor was then opened, allowing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to return home to northern Gaza, though much of it has been destroyed.
On 31 January, Hamas named Yarden Bibas, 35, Keith Siegel, 65, and Ofer Kalderon, 54 as the next Israelis to be released. They are due to be freed on the weekend.
Mr Bibas is the father of baby Kfir, only nine months old when he was kidnapped on 7 October, and Ariel, who was four at the time of the cross-border attack. He is the husband of Shiri Bibas.
Shiri, Ariel and Kfir remain unaccounted for amid “grave concerns” over their wellbeing from the Israeli military, with the likely release of Mr Bibas marking a painful moment for the large numbers of Israelis and other supporters around the world who have long campaigned for the Bibas family’s release.
The Independent details who some of these remaining hostages are below.
Alexander (Sasha) Troufanov (28)
The 28-year-old was captured alongside three other members of his family from Kibbutz Nir Oz. His mother Lena, his partner Sapir Cohen and his grandmother Irina Tati were all released the month following Hamas’ 7 October attack.
David Cunio (34)
The 34-year-old is another of Ariel’s brothers and was also abducted from Nir Oz. His wife Sharon Aloni Cunio was released in November 2023, along with their twin daughters Ema and Yuly, three. Meanwhile, Sharon’s sister Daniele Aloni and her six-year-old daughter Emilia were also both freed then.
Ohad Ben Ami (55)
The 55-year-old and his wife Raz were both captured from Be’eri, although she was later freed.
Gali and Ziv Berman (27)
The 27-year-old twins were abducted from Kfar Aza, with Ziv messaging a friend during Hamas’ attack. The brothers’ family said they had been told by the Israeli military that the pair are being held in Gaza.
Shlomo Mansour (86)
The Iraq-born 86-year-old was kidnapped from Kibbutz Kissufim. The chicken coop manager lived and worked there. Meanwhile, his wife Mazal managed to flee.
Daniela Gilboa (20)
The 20-year-old soldier was based at Kibbutz Nahal Oz. She was featured in a video published by Hamas in which she pleaded with the Israeli government to bring all the hostages home.
Matan Angrest (21)
The 21-year-old Israeli soldier was on duty on 7 October. It is assumed that he is still in Gaza.
Other hostages include:
Eli Sharabi (52)
Edan Alexander (20)
Matan Zanguaker (24)
Eitan Horn (38) and his brother Yair (46)
Oded Lifshitz (84)
Keith Siegel (65) – Due to be freed this weekend
Bipin Joshi (23)
Omer Neutra (22)
Itzik Elgarat (69)
Nimrod Cohen (20)
Tsachi Idan (50)
Yarden Bibas (35) – Due to be freed this weekend
Ofer Kalderon (54) – Due to be freed this weekend
Omri Miran (47)
Ohad Yahalomi (50)
Tal Shoham (39)
Sagui Dekel-Chen (36)
A number of people were abducted from the Supernova music festival in southern Israel. Among them:
Omer Shem Tov (21)
Omer made a getaway in his car but was captured when he tried to rescue his friends, Maya and Itai Regev. All three were taken captive – the Regev siblings were released in November 2023.
Avinatan Or (31)
Avinatan was kidnapped along with his girlfriend, Noa Argamani. She was rescued from central Gaza in June, and revealed that they had been separated.
Rom Braslavski (20)
Rom was working on security for the festival. According to an account published by Hostages and Missing Families Forum, he was trying to rescue an injured person in the attack when he was caught in a volley of fire. He has not been heard from since.
Bar Kuperstein (23)
Bar‘s family say they identified him in a video of Israeli prisoners, posted by Hamas. Since then, they have had no further information.
Other Supernova abductees:
Yosef Ohana (24)
Guy Gilboa-Dalal (23)
Eitan Mor (24)
Alon Ohel (23)
Maxim Kharkin (36)
Segev Kalfon (26)
Eliya Cohen (27)
Elkana Bohbot (35)
Omer Wenkert (23)
Evyatar David (23)
Or Levy (34)
Hostages believed dead
In November 2023, the bodies of 19-year-old soldier Noa Marciano and 65-year-old Yehudit Weiss were found by Israeli troops in buildings close to al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, according to the military.
The next month, the Israeli military said soldiers had mistakenly killed three hostages in northern Gaza who had escaped from captivity. They were named as Yotam Haim, 28, Samer Talalka, 22, and Alon Shamriz, 26. The military expressed “deep remorse”.
In August last year, the Israeli military announced that the bodies of Abraham Munder, Alex Dancyg, Yagev Buchshtab, Chaim Peri, Yoram Metzger and Nadav Popplewell had been found and returned to Israel. They said the six had died while held by Hamas.
Less than a month later, the Israeli military said troops had recovered the bodies of six hostages: Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi and Master Sgt Ori Danino. The military said it believed Hamas had killed them shortly before soldiers reached them.
Earlier this year, the body of Yousef Zyadna, a 53-year-old Bedouin dairy farmer, was found by the Israeli military in an underground tunnel in the southern Rafah area. The military later said his son Hamza, 22, had been killed in Hamas captivity, after a forensic examination of remains. Yousef’s other children, Bilal, 19, and Aisha, 17 had also been abducted but were released in November 2023.
The Israeli government said last week that eight of the 33 hostages to be released over the next few weeks are dead. With another 10 already released, that lives 15.