When Palestinian fighters led by Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023 and captured around 250 people, it triggered a problem that immediately became vital to much of Israeli society.
The captives immediately became a symbol for Israelis, used to justify Israel’s brutal war on Gaza – which has now killed more than 46,800 Palestinians. But the issue also divides Israelis, with many, including those who support opposition to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, insisting that the government has not done enough to reach a deal that would lead to their release.
Now that a ceasefire agreement has been reached, the nightmare of captivity may be about to end for those held in Gaza.
How many captives will be freed from Gaza?
There are estimated to be around 100 Israeli prisoners remaining in Gaza, all of whom are expected to be released if the deal between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas is fully implemented.
But not all will be released at the same time. During the first six-week phase of the deal, 33 captives are expected to be gradually released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. Among the Israeli prisoners who will be released during this phase are some sick or wounded, as well as female soldiers and men aged over 50.
Egypt said those released in the first phase would be exchanged for 1,890 Palestinian prisoners. Israel announced it would release 95 Palestinians, all women and children, on Sunday, the first day of the ceasefire.
The rest of the prisoners, all of whom are believed to be male soldiers, will be released during later phases of the ceasefire agreement in exchange for an unspecified number of Palestinian prisoners.
What do we know about the identities of the released captives?
No official list of Israeli captives released during the first phase has yet been released, and although the identities of the captives still in Gaza are known, it is not clear who is still alive.
On Saturday, Netanyahu said the ceasefire would not begin until Israel received the list of captives who would be freed.
Hamas said several captives were killed in Israeli attacks on the places where they were being held, but videos were also released with messages from some of them.
Although all remaining captives are Israeli, some have dual nationality, including from the United States, Argentina and Germany.
Five of the captives are believed to be female soldiers captured during the October 7 raids.
And two of the captives expected to be released in the first phase are Israelis who were captured in Gaza before October 7 and who spent years in the enclave.
How will the transfer of power process take place?
While some captives were freed by Israeli forces in military operations that killed dozens of Palestinian civilians, more than 100 – the vast majority of those who left Gaza – were freed as part of a ceasefire. temporary fire in November 2023.
During this prisoner exchange, the freed captives were transferred by Palestinian fighters to the Red Cross and then handed over to Israeli forces.
Israel has prepared medical teams to receive the captives, and the head of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum’s health team, Hagai Levine, expects many of them to suffer cardiovascular and respiratory problems after having spent so long underground in the tunnels.
How significant was their captivity in Israel?
The subject of captives has been central in Israel and among pro-Israeli supporters since the start of the war.
The release of captives has been one of Israel’s main war goals, but it also arguably contradicts one of its other stated goals, namely the complete defeat of Hamas.
Indeed, Hamas has offered to release the captives since the start of the war as part of a deal to end the war, a request that the Israeli prime minister had systematically refused until recently.
Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said he had been able to use his political power to prevent any deal from happening over the past year, essentially setting himself aims to defeat Hamas and build illegal Israeli settlements in Gaza. above the release of captives as part of a prisoner exchange. Ben-Gvir is now expected to keep his promise to resign if the deal is implemented.
However, the return of the captives is the main demand of many Israelis. Their photos are displayed on posters across Israel, and the demand “take them home now” is regularly heard at protests. A square in Tel Aviv has been renamed “Hostage Square” and is a central point of the protests.
Family members of the captives have had frequent run-ins with members of the Israeli government, and a movement representing them has vowed to continue pressing for the captives’ release. “We will not allow them (far-right ministers) to sabotage the full implementation of the agreement,” a speaker at an event in support of the ceasefire deal said on Saturday.