Hamas hostages: Stories of the people taken from Israel

Eitan Horn (L) remains in Gaza after his brother Yair (R) was released on 15 February 2025

More than 15 months after the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023 that triggered the war in Gaza, a ceasefire deal came into effect that has led to the release of some of the Israeli hostages held in Gaza in exchange for Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.

On 26 February, Hamas handed over the bodies of four Israeli hostages, in the final exchange scheduled during the six-week-long first phase of the agreement.

Israel later identified them as Shlomo Mansour, 86, Ohad Yahalomi, 50, Tsachi Idan, 50, and Itzik Elgarat, 69. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the four men had been murdered.

A total of 25 living and eight dead hostages have been released by Hamas in exchange for around 1,900 Palestinian prisoners and detainees during the first phase.

Talks on progressing to the second phase of the deal - under which the remaining 59 hostages would be released and the war would end permanently - have not yet begun.

• What do we know about the Gaza ceasefire deal?

These are the stories of those hostages who are still being held, which have either been confirmed by the BBC or credibly reported.

This list is updated and names may change, as some people feared kidnapped are confirmed to have been killed or released.

Last updated on 27 February 2025.

Ariel Cunio, 27, was abducted in the same attack on Nir Oz. Eitan Cunio, Ariel's brother who escaped Hamas, told the Jewish Chronicle that his last message from Ariel said: "We are in a horror movie." His partner Arbel Yehud, 29, was freed on 30 January 2025 under the ceasefire agreement.

David Cunio, 34, another of Ariel's brothers, was also kidnapped from Nir Oz. David's wife Sharon Aloni Cunio and their three-year-old twin daughters Ema and Yuly were released in November 2023. Sharon's sister Daniele Aloni, and her six-year-old daughter Emilia were both released the same month.

Twin brothers Gali and Ziv Berman, 27, were taken from Kfar Aza. Ziv was messaging a friend as the attack happened. Their family say the IDF has told them the brothers are being held in Gaza.

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldier Matan Angrest, 21, was on duty on 7 October and is presumed to be in Gaza.

Edan Alexander, 20, is an Israeli-US citizen who volunteered to join the Israeli army. He was serving near the Gaza border at the time of Hamas's attack. Edan's family said they had been told by Israeli officials that he had been taken to Gaza as a hostage.

Matan Zanguaker, 24, was taken with his partner Ilana Gritzewsky, 31, from Nir Oz. Ilana, a Mexican national, was released on 30 November 2023.

Bipin Joshi was studying agriculture in Israel

Eitan Horn, 38, an Argentinian citizen, was taken with his brother Yair, 46, from Nir Oz at the time of the attack. Eitan works in education and remains in Gaza while Yair was released on 15 February.

Bipin Joshi, 23, a Nepalese agriculture student, is believed to have been taken from Kibbutz Alumim. The Joshi family say they received confirmation from Israeli intelligence that his phone had been located in Gaza.

Nimrod Cohen, 20, was taken from Nahal Oz. After he was kidnapped, his father was invited to meet Pope Francis in Rome along with other hostages' families.

Omri Miran, 47, was abducted from Nahal Oz. His wife, Lishay, said she last saw him being driven away in his own car. She and their two small daughters were not taken with him.

A number of people were abducted from the Supernova music festival in southern Israel. Among them:

Yosef Ohana, 24, had been at the festival with a friend, who told his mother he and Yosef had remained to help people escape the gunfire before running themselves. Several weeks after the attack, Yosef's mother was told by the Israeli army that he was a captive in Gaza.

Avinatan Or, 31, was kidnapped along with his girlfriend, Noa Argamani. She was rescued from central Gaza in June, and revealed that they had been separated during the abduction.

Guy Gilboa-Dalal was filmed in captivity in Gaza, his family say

Guy Gilboa-Dalal, 23, attended the festival with his brother. In June, an unnamed released hostage was reported as saying they had been held in a room with Guy after their capture.

Eitan Mor, 24, was working as a security guard at the festival. In June, his father told Israeli radio that "the last sign of life" his family had had of Eitan was four months previously, but he did not give any details.

Alon Ohel, 23, is a Serbian citizen who was attending the festival. Hamas footage showed him being taken away as a hostage, but his mother said in August that she had not seen or heard of him since then.

Maxim Kharkin, 36, was invited to the festival at the last moment. He texted his mother twice after the attack, but has not been seen or heard of since.

Segev Kalfon, 26, was running away from the festival, across the highway, when he was captured by Hamas.

Bar Kuperstein, 23, was working at the festival when the attack took place. His family say they identified him in a video of Israeli prisoners, posted by Hamas. Since then, they say they have had no further information.

Elkana Bohbot, 35, had gone to the party with friends and, before losing contact, he spoke to his wife and mother telling them he was helping to evacuate the wounded, the Times of Israel reported. Hours later, his family found a video of him posted online by Hamas, which has been seen by BBC Verify.

Rom Braslavski, 20, 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.

Evyatar David's family say they were sent a video of him in captivity

Evyatar David, 23, was at the festival and on the morning of the attacks, he texted the family to say "they are bombarding the party". His family say they later received a text from an unknown number, containing video footage of Evyatar handcuffed on the floor of a dark room. According to Israel's foreign ministry, he is being held captive by Hamas in Gaza.

One Thai hostage named Nattapong Pinta remains unaccounted for, after the release of five others on 30 January 2025.

Hostages whose deaths Israel has confirmed:

On 27 February 2025, Hamas handed over the bodies of four male Israeli hostages, in the final exchange scheduled during the six-week-long first phase of the ceasefire deal.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu alleged that three of the men - Ohad Yahalomi, Tsachi Idan and Itzik Elgarat - "were murdered while held hostage in Gaza". The fourth, Shlomo Mansour, was "murdered in the 7 October 2023 massacre and his body had been held in the Gaza Strip", he said.

Tsachi Idan, 50, was taken away by Hamas gunmen from his home in Nahal Oz. His eldest child, Maayan - who had just turned 18 - was shot dead in the attack. In August 2024, Tsachi's wife, Gali, told US TV that the last she had heard of her husband was a report from released hostages during the ceasefire in November 2023.

Itzik Elgarat, 69, was kidnapped from Nir Oz, and reportedly shot in the hand during the attack. His phone was later traced to Gaza.

Ohad Yahalomi, 50, a French-Israeli dual national, was abducted from Nir Oz, along with his then-12-year-old son, Eitan, who was released in November 2023.

Iraq-born Shlomo Mansour, 86, was killed shortly after being abducted by gunmen from his home in Kibbutz Kissufim. His wife, Mazal, managed to escape.

The previous week, Hamas handed over the bodies of another four hostages - Shiri Bibas, 32, and her two young sons, Ariel and Kfir Bibas, as well as Oded Lifschitz, an 84-year-old veteran peace activist.

Kfir, aged nine months, from Kibbutz Nir Oz, was the youngest of the hostages snatched on 7 October 2023. His brother, Ariel, was just four.

In November 2023, Hamas said an Israeli air strike in Gaza had killed Shiri and her sons. However, after their bodies handed over, the Israeli military's spokesman said post-mortem exams and intelligence showed the boys had been murdered by their captors "with their bare hands". The Israeli prime minister said later that Shiri was also murdered.

At the start of February 2024, Shiri's husband, Yarden Bibas, was released by Hamas without his immediate family.

Oded Lifshitz was dragged by gunmen from his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz on 7 October 2023 and taken to Gaza alive. The Israeli prime minister's office said he was "murdered in captivity" by Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

On 1 September 2024, the IDF announced that its forces had recovered the bodies of six hostages - Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi and Master Sgt Ori Danino.

The IDF said they had been murdered by Hamas shortly before Israeli forces could reach them.

On 8 August, it was announced that the bodies of Abraham Munder, Alex Dancyg, Yagev Buchshtab, Chaim Peri, Yoram Metzger and Nadav Popplewell - all of whom who died in Hamas captivity - had been extracted from Gaza by the IDF and returned to Israel.

Omer Neutra, a 22-year-old Israeli-American and grandson of Holocaust survivors, was serving as a tank commander near Gaza when Hamas attacked. Omer's parents said they were told by the Israeli embassy that he had been kidnapped, however the IDF later said he was killed on 7 October and his body taken to Gaza.

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.

In December 2023, the Israeli military expressed "deep remorse" after soldiers mistakenly killed three hostages in northern Gaza who had escaped from their captors. They were named as Yotam Haim, 28, Samer Talalka, 22, and Alon Shamriz, 26.

In January 2025, 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 IDF later said his son Hamza Zyadna, 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.

Research by Jamie Ryan and Emma Pengelly

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