Hamas hostages: Stories of the people taken from Israel

More than a year after the Hamas-led attack on Israel, a ceasefire agreement has been reached, potentially paving the way for the release of the remaining Israeli hostages. Hamas kidnapped 251 people during their October 2023 attack on Israel. According to Israeli sources, 94 people remain unaccounted for, though it is believed only 60 are still alive.

The release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners is part of the agreement, which also includes the withdrawal of Israeli forces and the return of hundreds of thousands of displaced Gazans to their pre-war homes. Here are the stories of those still held hostage, which have been verified by the BBC or have credible reporting. This list is constantly being updated, and names may change as some people thought to be kidnapped have been confirmed dead or released.

Here are some of the individual cases of the hostages: 28-year-old Emily Damari, who holds dual British-Israeli citizenship, was kidnapped from Kibbutz Kfar Aza. Her mother, Mandy, stated at a memorial event in London on 6 October 2024 that hostages released last November told her they had been in contact with Emily while imprisoned. 28-year-old Alexander (Sasha) Troufanov was kidnapped along with his mother, Lena, partner, Sapir Cohen, and grandmother, Irina Tati. They were all taken from Kibbutz Nir Oz while spending the Sabbath there. Irina, Sapir, and Lena were released in November 2023. 27-year-old Ariel Cunio and his partner, 29-year-old Arbel Yahud, were kidnapped in the same attack at Nir Oz. Ariel’s brother, Itan Cunio, who escaped Hamas, told the Jewish Chronicle that the last message Ariel sent him was: “We’re in a horror movie.”

34-year-old David Cunio, another of Ariel's brothers, was also kidnapped from Nir Oz. David’s wife, Sharon Aloni Cunio, and their three-year-old twin daughters, Emma and Yuli, were released in November 2023. Sharon's sister, Danielle Aloni, and her six-year-old daughter, Emilia, were also released the same month. 31-year-old veterinary nurse Doron Steinbrecher was in her apartment at Kibbutz Kfar Aza when Hamas attacked. On October 7 at 10:30, she sent a voice message to a friend saying: "They are here, they have got me." 20-year-old Naama Levy was filmed being bundled into a jeep with her hands tied behind her back. The video was released by Hamas and widely circulated on social media. According to her mother, the teenager had just started her military service. 55-year-old Ohad Ben Ami was kidnapped from Be'eri with his wife, Raz. She was later released by Hamas. 27-year-old twin brothers Gali and Ziv Berman were taken from Kfar Aza. Ziv was messaging friends at the time of the attack. Their family says the Israeli Defense Forces told them the brothers are being held in Gaza.

86-year-old Iraqi-born Shlomo Mansour was kidnapped from Kibbutz Kissufim, where he lived and worked as a chicken coop manager. His wife, Mazal, managed to escape. 20-year-old Daniela Gilboa was a soldier stationed at Kibbutz Nahal Oz. In July 2024, Hamas released a video of hostages in which she called on the Israeli government to bring her and the other hostages home. 21-year-old IDF soldier Matan Angrest was on duty on October 7 and is presumed to be in Gaza. 52-year-old Eli Sharabi was taken from Be'eri with his brother, Yossi, who has been confirmed dead. Eli's wife and two daughters were killed in the attack. Yossi's daughter, Yuval's, boyfriend, Ofir Engel, was also taken but released on November 29. 20-year-old Agam Berger was kidnapped from Nahal Oz. She was seen being taken away in a video released by Hamas. 20-year-old Edan Alexander, an Israeli-American citizen, volunteered for the Israeli army. He was serving near the Gaza border at the time of the Hamas attack. Edan's family says they were told by Israeli officials that he was taken to Gaza as a hostage.

24-year-old Matan Zanguaker was taken from Nir Oz along with his partner, 31-year-old Ilana Gritzewsky. Ilana, who is Mexican, was released on 30 November 2023. 38-year-old Eitan Horn and his brother, 46-year-old Yair, both Argentine citizens, were also at Nir Oz when the attack took place. Yair is a construction worker, while Eitan works in education. 65-year-old Keith Siegel and his wife, Adrienne (usually known as Aviva) Siegel, were taken from their home in Kfar Aza. Adrienne was released in November 2023. 23-year-old Nepalese agriculture student Bipin Joshi is believed to have been taken from Kibbutz Alumim. Joshi’s family said they received confirmation from Israeli intelligence that his phone had been located in Gaza. 84-year-old retired journalist Oded Lifshitz was kidnapped from Nir Oz. His wife, Yocheved, was also kidnapped but released in October 2023. 22-year-old Israeli-American Omer Neutra, the grandson of Holocaust survivors, was a tank commander near Gaza at the time of the Hamas attack. Omer’s parents said they were informed by the Israeli embassy that he had been kidnapped.

69-year-old Itzik Elgarat was kidnapped from Nir Oz and reportedly shot in the hand during the attack. His phone was tracked to Gaza after the attack. 80-year-old Gadi Moses was also kidnapped from Nir Oz, where he worked as an agricultural expert. His partner, Efrat Katz, was killed in the attack. In September, his family told The Times of Israel they have had no information about him since he appeared in a Hamas propaganda video in December 2023. 20-year-old Nimrod Cohen was taken from Nahal Oz. After his kidnapping, his father was invited to meet Pope Francis in Rome with other hostage families. 50-year-old Tsachi Idan was taken from his home in Nahal Oz by Hamas gunmen. His eldest child, Maayan, had just turned 18 and was shot dead in the attack. In August, Tsachi’s wife, Gali, told US television that the last she heard of her husband was from reports of hostages released in November 2023. 34-year-old Yarden Bibas was kidnapped from Nir Oz with his wife, Shiri, and their two young children, Ariel and Kfir. Hamas claimed that Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir later died in Israeli bombing. In a TV interview in June, Israeli minister Benny Gantz said the government knew what happened to the Bibas family but said he could not provide details at this time. 20-year-old soldier Karina Ariev was serving at the army base in Nahal Oz when she was kidnapped. Her sister, Alexandra, told the BBC she heard gunshots when Karina called her during the attack, and later saw a video showing Karina being taken into a vehicle.

53-year-old Ofer Kalderon was taken by Hamas from Nir Oz, along with his two children, Erez and Sahar. Two other family members, 80-year-old Carmela Dan and her granddaughter, 12-year-old Noya, were killed in the attack. Erez and Sahar were released in November 2023. 47-year-old Omri Miran was kidnapped from Nahal Oz. His wife, Lishai, said she last saw him being driven away in his own car. She and their two young daughters were not taken. 19-year-old Liri Albag had just started military training as an army lookout at the Nahal Oz base when the Hamas attack took place. Her family says she has managed to get messages to them through released hostages. 50-year-old Ohad Yahalomi was kidnapped from Nir Oz with his 12-year-old son, Eitan, who was released during the November ceasefire. 39-year-old Tal Shoham was taken from Kibbutz Be'eri. His wife, Adi, their two young children, and his mother-in-law, Dr Shosham Haran, were also captured but released in November 2023. Dr Haran’s husband, Avshalom, was killed in the attack. 36-year-old American-Israeli citizen Sagui Dekel-Chen has been missing since the Hamas attack on Nir Oz. Since his kidnapping, his wife, Avital, has given birth to their third child, a daughter named Shahar.

Many people were kidnapped from the Supernova music festival in southern Israel. They include: 21-year-old Omer Shem Tov initially escaped in his car, but was captured when he tried to rescue his friends Maya and Itay Regev. All three were captured - the Regev siblings were released in November 2023, but they said they had been imprisoned with Omer. 24-year-old Yosef Ohana attended the festival with a friend, who told his mother that he and Yosef stayed to help people escape the shooting before they themselves tried to flee. Weeks after the attack, Yosef’s mother was told by the Israeli army that he was being held in Gaza. 31-year-old Avinatan Or was kidnapped with his girlfriend, Noa Argamani. She was rescued from central Gaza in June and revealed they were separated during the kidnapping. 23-year-old Guy Gilboa-Dalal attended the festival with his brother. In June, an unnamed released hostage reportedly said they had been held in the same room as Guy after their capture. 24-year-old Eitan Mor was working as a security guard at the festival. In June, his father told Israeli radio that his family "last saw a sign of life from Eitan" four months ago, but he did not give any details. 23-year-old Alon Ohel, a Serbian citizen, was at the festival. Hamas footage showed him being taken hostage, but his mother said in August that she had not seen or heard from him since. 36-year-old Maxim Kharkin was invited to the festival at the last minute. He sent two text messages to his mother after the attack, but has not been seen or heard from since. 26-year-old Segev Kalfon was captured by Hamas on a highway while fleeing the festival. 24-year-old Romi Gonen was ambushed while trying to flee the Supernova music festival. Her mother, Merav Leshem Gonan, addressed the UN Human Rights Council in June, when she called on the international community to help free the hostages.

23-year-old Bar Kuperstein was working at the festival at the time of the attack. His family said they recognized him in a video of Israeli prisoners released by Hamas. They said they have not received any further information since. 27-year-old Eliya Cohen and his girlfriend initially hid in a shelter from the attackers, but he was discovered and taken away. In June, Hamas released footage showing the moment Cohen and others were captured. 35-year-old Elkana Bohbot went to the party with friends, and before losing contact, he told his wife and mother he was helping to evacuate the injured, The Times of Israel reported. Hours later, his family found a video of him released by Hamas online, which BBC Verify has seen. 20-year-old Rom Braslavski was working security at the festival. According to a report released by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, he was shot while trying to rescue an injured person during the attack. There has been no news of him since. 23-year-old restaurant manager Omer Wenkert sent his family a message saying he was going to a secure shelter, and then lost contact. His family said they had seen Hamas video footage including a picture of him in handcuffs and only wearing underwear. 23-year-old Evyatar David was at the festival, and on the morning of the attack, he texted his family to say "they are bombing the party". His family said they later received a text message from an unknown number with video footage of Evyatar handcuffed on the floor of a dark room. According to the Israeli Foreign Ministry, he is being held by Hamas in Gaza. 34-year-old Or Levy fled the festival with his wife, Einav, and called his mother to say they were hiding in a bomb shelter. Israeli forces later told his family that Einav's body was found in the shelter, while Or had been kidnapped.

The Thai government has said there are still six Thai citizens being held hostage in Gaza. Their names are Wachara Srian, Bannawat Setto, Satian Suwannakan, Natthapon Phinta, Pongsak Thanna, and Surasak Ramnu. It is now known that some hostages have died while in captivity. They include: On 1 September, the IDF announced that its forces had recovered the bodies of six hostages, who were Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi, and Sergeant Ori Danino. The IDF said they were killed by Hamas shortly before Israeli forces were able to reach them. On 8 August, the remains of Avraham Munder, Alex Dancyg, Yagev Buchshtab, Haim Peri, Yoram Metzger, and Nadav Popplewell - who all died while in Hamas captivity - were announced to have been retrieved from Gaza by the IDF and returned to Israel. In November 2023, the bodies of 19-year-old soldier Noa Marciano and 65-year-old Yehudit Weiss were found by Israeli forces in a building near the Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. In December 2023, the Israeli military said it was "deeply regretful" after soldiers mistakenly killed three hostages who had escaped their captors. They were named as 28-year-old Yotam Haim, 22-year-old Samer Talalka, and 26-year-old Alon Shamriz. In January 2025, the Israeli military found the body of 53-year-old Bedouin dairy farmer Yousef Ziadna in a tunnel in the southern Rafah area. The IDF later said that his son, 22-year-old Hamza, had died in Hamas captivity after forensic examinations on the remains. Yousef's other children, 19-year-old Bilal and 17-year-old Aisha, were also kidnapped but released in November 2023.