How many hostages remain in Gaza?published at 14:28 Greenwich Mean Time

Eli Sharabi, one of the Israeli hostages handed over by Hamas, did not know his wife and daughters were killed on 7 October 2023 until after his release
With families of the hostages still in Gaza protesting against Israel's decision to resume fighting (see our last post), here's a reminder of how many people were freed as part of the first phase of the ceasefire - and how many remain.
Some 25 Israeli hostages were released, alive, between 19 January 2025 - when the long-awaited Israel-Hamas ceasefire began - and the end of February.
Among them were Eli Sharabi (shown above)and Emily Damari, a British-Israeli dual citizen who was one of the first people to be released under the deal.
Hamas also handed over the bodies of another eight hostages. Five living Thai nationals were released too - but this was part of a separate deal.
In exchange, around 1,900 Palestinian prisoners were freed from Israeli jails - images showed emotional family reunions in the occupied West Bank.
Who remains? Israel says Hamas is still holding 59 hostages - all but one who were taken during the 7 October 2023 attacks - with 24 believed to still be alive.

Families were regularly photographed reuniting following the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails (file photo)