Who are Israeli hostages released and rescued from Gaza?

According to the long-awaited ceasefire agreement with Israel, as of January 19, 2025, 19 hostages held by Hamas in Gaza have been released. In addition, five Thai nationals were freed under a separate agreement. The achievement of this ceasefire agreement has brought new hope for resolving the hostage crisis and fostering future dialogue.

Approximately 15 months after the October 7, 2023, attacks, Israeli officials stated that the whereabouts of 70 of the 251 people taken hostage remain unknown. However, the Israeli side believes that only 35 of them are still alive. The search for the missing hostages continues, with the Israeli government working to confirm their condition and provide support to their families.

After days of persistent concerns about the prospects of a ceasefire agreement, Hamas released three hostages on Saturday, February 15. They were Alexander Trufanov, who holds dual Russian and Israeli citizenship, Yair Horn, who holds dual Argentinian and Israeli citizenship, and Sagui Dekel-Chen, who holds dual American and Israeli citizenship. Since the ceasefire agreement was reached, there have been six releases of hostages, demonstrating a fragile but ongoing progress.

As of now, a total of 141 hostages have been released from captivity, including 81 Israelis and 24 foreign nationals. These foreign nationals were released under a previous agreement between Israel and Hamas, which facilitated a week-long ceasefire in November 2023. The experiences of the released hostages vary, but their regained freedom is a welcome relief for them and their loved ones.

The following are personal accounts of some of the released hostages: Yair Horn, 46, an Argentinian citizen and construction worker, was in Nir Oz when the attacks occurred. He has been released, but his brother, Eitan, 38, an educator, who was taken at the same time as Yair, remains in Gaza. Alexander (Sasha) Trufanov, 29, was taken hostage along with his mother, Lena, his partner, Sapir Cohen, and his grandmother, Irina Tati. They were all kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz. Irina, Sapir, and Lena were released in November 2023. Alexander was released on February 15. Sagui Dekel-Chen, 36, an American-Israeli citizen, had been missing since the Hamas attack on Nir Oz. Since his abduction, his wife, Avital, has given birth to their third child, a girl named Shahar. Sagui was released on February 15. Ohad Ben-Ami, 55, was kidnapped from Kibbutz Be’eri along with his wife, Raz. She was later released by Hamas. Ohad was released on February 8. Eli Sharabi, 52, was taken from Be’eri along with his brother Yossi, who has been confirmed dead. Eli’s wife and two daughters were killed in the attacks. Yossi’s daughter Yuval’s boyfriend, Ofir Engel, was also taken but was released on November 29. Eli was released by Hamas on February 8. Or Levi, 34, fled the festival with his wife, Eynav, and called his mother to say they were hiding in a bomb shelter. Israeli forces later told the family that Eynav’s body had been found in the shelter and Or had been abducted. Or was released from Gaza on February 8. Ofer Calderon, 54, was taken from Nir Oz by Hamas along with his two children, Erez and Sahar. Two other family members—Camela Dan, 80, and her granddaughter, Noya, 12—were killed in the attacks. Erez and Sahar were released in November 2023. Ofer was released as part of a ceasefire deal on February 1. Yarden Bibas, 34, was kidnapped from Nir Oz along with his wife, Shiri, and their two young children, Ariel and Kfir. Hamas claimed that Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir were later killed in an Israeli bombing. In a televised interview in June, then-Israeli Minister Benny Gantz said that the government knew what had happened to the Bibas family but said he could not provide details at that time. Yarden Bibas was released on February 1. Keith Siegel, 65, and his wife, Adriane—commonly known as Aviva—Siegel were taken from their home in Kfar Aza. Adriane was released in November 2023. Keith was released on February 1. Agam Berger, 20, a soldier, was abducted from the Nahal Oz military base. She was seen being taken away in a video released by Hamas and was released on January 30. Arbel Yehud, 29, was kidnapped from Nir Oz along with her partner, Ariel Cunio, 27, and his brother, David. She was released on January 30, but Ariel and David remain in captivity. Gadi Mozes, 80, was also abducted from Nir Oz, where he worked as an agricultural expert. His partner, Efrat Katz, was killed in the attacks. He appeared in a Hamas propaganda video in December 2023 and was released on January 30.

The five Thai nationals who were released under another agreement reached on January 30 were Wanchana Srioan, Bannawat Sethao, Sa-teean Suwanna-kan, Pongsak Tha-na, and Surasak Rammao. Naama Levy, 20, was filmed being bundled into a jeep with her hands tied behind her back. The video was released by Hamas and widely shared on social media. According to her mother, the teenager had just started her military service. Naama was released on January 25. Daniela Gilboa, 20, is a soldier who was stationed at Kibbutz Nahal Oz. In July 2024, Hamas released a hostage video of her in which she appealed to the Israeli government to bring her and the other hostages home. Daniela was released on January 25. Karina Ariev, 20, is a soldier who was kidnapped while serving at the Nahal Oz army base. Her sister Alexandra told the BBC that when Karina called her during the attacks, she heard gunfire and later saw a video showing Karina being taken onto a vehicle. She returned to Israel on January 25. Liri Albag, 19, had just started her military training as an army lookout at the Nahal Oz base when Hamas launched its attack. Her family said she had managed to get messages back to them via released hostages. Liri was also released on January 25. Emily Damari, 28, who holds dual British and Israeli citizenship, was taken hostage from Kibbutz Kfar Aza. She was one of the first Israeli women that Hamas planned to release under the ceasefire agreement that went into effect on January 19, 2025. Doron Steinbrecher, 31, is a Romanian-Israeli veterinary nurse who was in her apartment in Kibbutz Kfar Aza when Hamas attacked. She sent a voice message to a friend at 10:30 a.m. on October 7: “They’re here, they got me.” Doron was also released on the first day of the new ceasefire agreement. The third woman to be released was Romi Gonen, 24, who was ambushed while trying to flee the Supernova music festival.

On August 27, 2024, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) rescued 52-year-old Kida Farhan Elkadi, who has 11 children and one grandchild, in a “complex operation in southern Gaza.” Mr. Elkadi, who is from a Bedouin village in the Negev Desert, was working as a security guard at Kibbutz Magen when he was kidnapped. The IDF rescued Noa Argamani, 26, Almog Meir Jan, 22, Andrei Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 41, in a raid in central Gaza on June 8, 2024. The IDF said they were freed from two separate buildings in the Nuseirat area in a “high-risk, complex mission.” At the same time, large numbers of Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks in the same area. Fernando Marman, 60, and Louis Har, 70, were rescued in combat in the southern Gaza city of Rafah on February 12. 81 Israeli hostages were released during a week-long temporary truce in the last week of November 2023. Amit Soussana, 40, a lawyer, was abducted from Kfar Aza. After her release, she told The New York Times that she was sexually assaulted by a guard during her captivity. Mia Shem, 21, who holds dual French and Israeli citizenship. She appeared in the first hostage video released by Hamas, saying she had been abducted from the Supernova music festival. Aisha Ziadna, 16, and her brother Bilal, 18, were released, but their brother Hamza and their father Youssef died in captivity. Nili Margalit, 41, a nurse, was abducted from her home in Kibbutz Nir Oz. Shani Goren, 29, was taken from Nir Oz, and her family later saw her in a video released by Hamas. She is the granddaughter of a Uruguayan national and was granted citizenship after she was abducted. Ilana Gritzewsky, 30, was taken hostage from Nir Oz along with her partner, Matan Zanguaker, who remains a hostage. Raya Rotem, 54, was released a few days after her daughter, Hila Rotem Shoshani, 13, on November 29, 2023. They were abducted from Kibbutz Be’eri. Itai Regev, 18, and his sister Maya Regev, 21, were taken from the Supernova music festival. Amit Shani, 16, was the only member of his family to be taken when Hamas gunmen stormed the safe room in his home in Kibbutz Be’eri. Also taken from Be’eri was Ofir Engel, 18, an Israeli-Dutch national, who was visiting his girlfriend Yuval when Hamas arrived. He was kidnapped along with Yuval’s father, Yossi Sharabi, who was later killed in an Israeli airstrike. Yossi’s brother, Eli Sharabi, was released by Hamas on February 8, 2025, after 15 months in captivity. Gali Tarshansky, 13, was also abducted from Be’eri. Her brother Lior was killed in the attacks. Yarden Roman-Gat, 36, a German-Israeli citizen, was abducted from Be’eri. Her husband Alon and three-year-old Gefen managed to escape. Raz Ben-Ami, 57, was captured along with her husband Ohad at Kibbutz Be’eri, and Ohad remains captive. Moran Stela Yanai, 40, was released on the same day in November 2023. In an interview with the BBC in April 2024, she described how she coped with her 54-day ordeal. Liat Atzili, 49, who holds dual American and Israeli citizenship, was also released. Mia Leimberg, 17, her mother Gabriela, 59, and Mia’s aunt Clara Marman, 63, were all released after being abducted from Nir Yitzhak. Sapir Cohen, 29, was kidnapped along with her partner, Sasha Trufanov (who remains a hostage), and his mother and grandmother, Lena Trufanov, 50, and Irina Tati, 73. The two older women, who hold dual Russian and Israeli citizenship, were released as a “gesture” to Russian President Vladimir Putin—who has declined to condemn the group in the wake of the October 7 attacks—rather than as part of a deal with Israel. Hamas released another Russian-Israeli on the same grounds. Roni Krivoi, 25, was kidnapped while working as a sound engineer at the Supernova music festival. Sharon Aloni Cunio, 34, and her three-year-old twin daughters, Emma and Yuli, were released, but Sharon’s husband and the girls’ father, David Cunio, remains in Gaza. The four were kidnapped from Nir Oz along with Sharon’s sister, Danielle Aloni, and her six-year-old daughter, Emilia. Both were also released. Or Yaakov, 16, and his brother Yagil, who turned 13 in captivity, were released, but their father, Yair Yaakov, was killed in the attacks. Yair’s partner, Merav Tal, 53, was also released. Rimon Buchshtav Kirsh, 36, was taken hostage along with her husband, Yagev. She was released, but he died in Gazan captivity. Sahar Calderon, 16, and her brother Erez, 12, were released after being taken from Nir Oz by Hamas. Karina Engel-Bart, 52, and her two daughters, Mika Engel, 18, and Yuval Engel, 11, were released. Eitan Yahalomi, 12, was released, but his father, Ohad, who was shot while trying to defend their home in Nir Oz, is believed to be a hostage. Emily Hand, 9, was released after being held in Gaza without any family members present. The Irish-Israeli girl, who went missing from Be’eri, turned nine while she was a hostage. Doron Katz-Asher, 34, and her two daughters, Raz, 4, and Aviv, 2, were released after being captured near the Gaza border. Hagar Brodetz, 40, was released along with her children, Oriya, 4, Yuval, 8, and Ofri, 10. The four were kidnapped from their home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza. Released with the Brodetz family was Avigail Idan, 4, an Israeli-American whose parents were attacked and killed. Ohad Munder-Zichri, 9, his mother Keren Munder, 54, and his grandmother Ruti Munder, 78, were kidnapped from Nir Oz. Ohad’s ninth birthday was spent in Gaza. Another family member, Abraham Munder, died in captivity. Noam Or, 17, and his sister Alma, 13, were released on November 25. Their brother Liam Or, 18, was released a few days later. They were taken from their home in Be’eri. The children’s mother, Yonat, was identified among the 120 people murdered in the kibbutz. In May 2024, Be’eri announced that the children’s father, Dror—who was initially thought to be a hostage—had also been killed in the attacks. Sisters Dafna, 15, and Ella Eliakim, 8, were released after being taken from their home in Nir Oz. They were part of a family group whose capture was livestreamed by their attackers. Chen Almog-Goldstein, 48, and her children Tal, 8, Gal, 11, and Agam, 17, were released. Chen’s husband Nadav and their 20-year-old daughter Yam were killed during the Hamas attack on Kibbutz Kfar Aza. Tami Metzger, 78, was released, but her husband, Yoram, was killed in Gaza. His body was later found by Israeli forces and brought home. Ditza Heiman, 84, was kidnapped from the safe room in her house in Nir Oz. A former social worker, she was one of the founding members of the kibbutz. Her late husband, Zvi Shdaimah, had been involved in the Kindertransport program, the organized rescue effort that brought children out of Nazi-controlled Europe. Ofelia Adit Roitman, 77, a former headteacher, was taken from Kibbutz Nir Oz by Hamas. Aida Sagi, who turned 75 in captivity, was kidnapped from her home in Kibbutz Nir Oz. Noralin “Natalie” Babadilla—or Noralin Agojo in some reports—60, was visiting Kibbutz Nirim to celebrate the community’s 70th anniversary when she was kidnapped by Hamas. Her partner, Gideon, was murdered that day. Channa Katzir, 77, was kidnapped from Nir Oz along with her son, Elad Katzir, 47. Elad’s body was found in Khan Yunis by Israeli forces in April 2024. Channa Peri, 79, was taken hostage along with her son, Nadav Popplewell, 51. Nadav’s body was recovered by Israeli forces from an underground tunnel in the Khan Yunis area in August 2024. Shoshan Haran, 67, Dr. was kidnapped from her home in Kibbutz Be’eri. She was released along with her daughter Adi Shoham, 38, and Adi’s children Naveh, 8, and Yahli, 3. Dr. Haran’s husband Avshalom, an economist with German and Israeli citizenship, was killed in the Hamas attack, while Adi’s husband Tal Shoham, 38, remains captive. Sharon Avigdori, 52, a drama therapist, and her daughter Noam, 12, who are relatives of Dr. Haran, were also released, having been kidnapped from Be’eri at the same time. Yaffa Adar, 85, was kidnapped from Nir Oz. Her grandson Tamir, 38, was killed while defending the kibbutz as part of its emergency squad. Shiri Weiss, 53, and her daughter Noga, 18, were taken from Be’eri. Shiri is an accountant for the kibbutz’s agricultural association. Her husband (and Noga’s father) Ilan was killed in the attacks. Adriane Aviva Siegel, 62, was taken from her home in Kfar Aza along with her husband Keith, 64, who remains one of the hostages. Margalit Mozes, 78, was kidnapped from her home in Kibbutz Nir Oz. Adina Moshe, 72, was kidnapped from Nir Oz. Her husband, Said Moshe, was killed in the attacks. After her release, Elma Avraham, 84, was airlifted to Soroka Hospital in Beersheba in serious condition. A spokesperson for the community said she had lived at Kibbutz Nahal Oz for nearly 50 years before she was abducted. Before the agreement between Israel and Hamas, four hostages were released and another was rescued by Israeli forces: On Friday, October 20, 2023, two Americans—Judith Raanan and her daughter Natalie Raanan—were released. On Monday, October 23, 2023, two elderly women—Nourit Cooper and Yocheved Lifshitz—were released. An Israeli soldier—Ori Megidish—was freed during ground operations in Gaza on October 29, 2023. During the temporary truce in November 2023, 20 foreign workers were released. 19 of them were from Thailand. Witoon Phumkhon, 39, and his girlfriend, Nattawaree Mulakan, were released by Hamas on November 24. Witoon’s sister, Urai Chanthachat, told BBC Thai that the family was “overjoyed” at the news. It was initially feared that Wichai Kalapat was among the Thai nationals killed in the Hamas attacks until his girlfriend received a message saying he was being held hostage in Gaza. She told the BBC she was “very happy” because she did not think he would be one of those released. Seven other hostages were released on the same day. Their names are Uthai Toonsri, Buddhi Sangboon, Bancha Kongmanee, Witthoon Phumi, Mongkol Pajueyboon, Santi Boonphom, and Uthai Sangnuan. Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said that Natthaporn Onkaew, Kongkriat Choomboo were among the four Thai nationals released on November 25. Anucha Angkaew was also released. His wife, Wanida Maarsa, told BBC Thai that her husband, who had been working at an avocado farm for nearly two years, was among those captured by Hamas militants. The fourth person to be released was Manee Jirachart, who had traveled to Israel to work four years earlier. He and five other workers were captured by Hamas as they hid together, according to his father, who had spoken to survivors, in an interview with a Thai TV station. On November 26, it was announced that Vichian Temthong, Surin Kesornsoong, and Pongsawan Pinakalo had been released. Two more Thai hostages were released on Tuesday, November 28—Owat Suriyasri and Pattana Yut Tongsookri—and four more were released the following day. Their names are Piboon Ratanirun, Kong Salae, Jakraphan Seekanha, and Chalermchai Sangkaew. Gleno “Jimmy” Layan Pacheco, 33, from the Philippines, was also released as part of the same deal. The father of three had been working in Israel as a caregiver to Amita Ben-Zvi, 80, who was killed in the attack on Nir Oz.