The ceasefire and the release of the hostages aroused both hope and fear among the Israelis: that the agreement does not fail before the return of all the hostages, that those who will be released n ‘ arrive in poor health, or that the number of died captives is higher than expected.
During the first phase of the ceasefire, 33 hostages from Gaza will be released in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
Some 250 people were taken hostage during the Hamas attack on October 7. About 80 of them are still in Gaza, but it is believed that at least a third of them are dead. The others were released, rescued or their bodies were found.
Here is an overview of the hostages released so far:
The release of Yarden Bibas has reduced the hope that his wife and children are still alive in Gaza.
Hamas said the three people were killed in an Israeli air strike. Israel did not confirm this information, but a military spokesman said last week that the government was “extremely concerned” by their fate.
Yarden Bibas was removed at the Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7. Photos of the abduction show him injured, bleeding from the head.
It is believed that he was captured separately from his wife and sons. A video of the family kidnapping shows Shiri swaddling her two red boys in a blanket while she is taken by armed men.
KFIR, the youngest hostages removed, came to represent helplessness and anger aroused by taking hostages.
Keith Siegeloriginally from Chapel Hill, in North Carolina, was removed with his wife, Aviva Siegel, in Kibbutz Kfar Aza, a community agricultural village strongly damaged by the attack. She was released during the ceasefire agreement in November 2023 and campaigned worldwide for the release of her husband and other hostages.
Keith Siegel was an occupational therapist and liked to spend time with his grandchildren, according to the forum representing hostage families.
Aviva Siegel said she was held hostage with her husband during her 51 days of captivity. She said she was comforted by the presence of her husband by her side when they were moved from one tunnel to another and that they hardly had to eat or drink. The last words she addressed to her were: “Be strong for me”.
OFER KALDERONhostage Franco-Israeliwas captured in the Kibbutz Nir Oz. His adolescent children, Sahar and Erez, and his ex-wife, Hadas, were also kidnapped, but they were released during a week’s ceasefire in 2023.
Hadas Kalderon said children have had difficulty since they left captivity, worried about their father’s health.
Ofer Kalderon worked as a carpenter and likes to cycle and pilot reduced aircraft models, according to the hostage forum.
Arbel Yehoud Was taken hostage with her boyfriend, Ariel Cunio, from Kibbutz Nir Oz. Resident of Kibbutz for three generations, she loves science and space, and her friends organized a public session for observing stars to mark her birthday in captivity.
ADVERTISEMENTHis brother, Dolev Yehoud, was killed on October 7.
Israel has delayed by two days the return of the Palestinians to the north of Gaza because he accused Hamas of having violated the terms of the ceasefire agreement by not releasing Yehoud, a civil, January 25 , before the release of women soldiers.
The mediators resolved the dispute by agreeing that Yehoud would be released on Thursday, and the Palestinians began to return to the north of the country on Monday. Yehoud is also a German citizen.
In the videos of the removal ofAgam Shepherdhis face is covered with blood, without anyone knowing whether it is his own wounds or those of other soldiers.
ADVERTISEMENTAgam Berger is a violinist in the suburbs of Tel Aviv who had engaged in the army only two months before the attack.
The Israeli channel Channel 12 reported that the other four soldiers were devastated to leave shepherd behind them on Saturday and that they even proposed to stay with it. They indicated that they planned to stay in the hospital, in the suburbs of Tel Aviv, during the first days which will follow his release.
Gadi Moses was one of the oldest hostages to have remained in captivity in Gaza.
He was removed from his home in the Kibbutz Nir Oz, one of the hardest communities affected by the attack by Hamas. The hostage families forum, a defense group, described Moses as an agronomist expert who gave conferences on agriculture and helped maintain the Kibbutz community vegetable garden.
ADVERTISEMENTMoses’s partner, EFRAT, was killed during the attack. His ex-wife was taken hostage and released during a previous ceasefire in November 2023. Moses, who is also a German citizen, appeared in a video probably filmed under the constraint and published by his captors in December 2023, in which he pleaded for his freedom.
During the October 7 attack, activists invaded the complex where agricultural workers lived in the Kibbutz Nir Oz. Out of 16 Thai workers who lived there, 11 were killed and five, including Watchara Sriaounwere removed.
They were one of the 31 Thai workers captured during the assault. During the ceasefire in November 2023, 23 of them were released as part of a negotiated agreement between Thailand and Hamas, with the help of Qatar and Iran.
Sathian Suwannakham was also taken to Nir Oz. The Kibbutz continued to plead for the release of Thai workers by regularly publishing information about them on social media, in addition to Israeli hostages.
ADVERTISEMENTAccording to the Thai Foreign Ministry, around 30,000 Thai worked in Israel at the start of the war, the vast majority in agriculture. About 5,000 of them lived in the southern area near the border with Gaza.
Surasak Rumnao was removed in the city of Yesha, located near the south of the Gaza Strip.
His mother, Khammee Lamnao, said that the Thailand Embassy in Israel had called him to inform him that his son would be released.
“I can’t wait to see my son,” said this 53 -year -old woman. “I have been waiting for it for a long time.
ADVERTISEMENTSurasak has been working in the agricultural sector in Israel for 15 months when he was taken hostage.
Pongsak Thaenna was also removed in the city of Yesha. Thai people are the most important group of foreigners detained in Gaza.
In the first days following the attack on October 7, Thai Prime Minister at the time, Srettha Thavisin, insisted with the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, during telephone conversations, to come to the aid of Thai hostages.
Bannawat Saethao was also removed in the city of Yesha.
ADVERTISEMENTLiri Albagwhich was one of the people kidnapped at the Nahal Oz military base, was filmed under constraint in a video published by Hamas at the beginning of January. His family said the video was “difficult to watch” due to Liri Albag’s obvious emotional distress. They were particularly active in the protest movement in favor of an agreement with Hamas to bring the hostages home.
“Liri, if you hear us, tell others that all families move heaven and earth and want their children to return home, and that we will fight until all the hostages are returned,” said his father in A press release after the broadcast of the video.
Karina Ariev was also removed in Nahal Oz.
Just before being removed, she sent a message to her family, saying, “If I don’t live, take care of my mother and my father all their lives. Do not give up, live, ”according to Israeli media. Her family said she liked to cook, sing, dance and write poems.
ADVERTISEMENTIn January 2024, she appeared in a video alongside Daniella Gilboa and Doron Steinbrecher, who were both released.
Also removed in Nahal Oz, Daniella Gilboa was originally called Danielle. His parents changed it after his captivity, in accordance with a Jewish tradition supposed to bring the protection of God.
Originally from Petah Tikva, in the suburbs of Tel Aviv, Daniella Gilboa plays the piano and studies music in high school. According to Israeli media, she dreams of becoming a singer.
Images of the removal of Naama Levyon which she wears gray surface pants covered with blood, have been broadcast worldwide.
ADVERTISEMENTNaama Levy, which is one of the people kidnapped at Nahal Oz, is a triathlete. When she was younger, she participated in the delegation “Hands of Peace”, which brings together Americans, Israelis and Palestinians to work on coexistence.
Ms. Levy said on Instagram that she had regained strength when she had found other hostages after spending the first 50 days of captivity practically alone.
Romi Gonen Was kidnapped at the Nova music festival in southern Israel on October 7, 2023. She spoke to her family for almost five hours while activists marauded in the festival. She told them that it was impossible to escape roads crowded with abandoned cars and that she would seek refuge in bushes.
Her father, Eitan Goren, said that she had survived in part by learning Arabic, because it was the only way to communicate with his kidnappers. “I like to be with her, even in silence, touch her, take her in my arms, look at her,” he said a week after her release. “I missed it so much.”
ADVERTISEMENTEmily Damari is an Israeli-British citizen kidnapped in his apartment in Kibbutz Kfar Aza. She lived in a small apartment in a neighborhood for young adults, the part of the Kibbutz closest to Gaza. Activists crossed the fence of the Kibbutz and ransacked the neighborhood.
The day after her release, Mandy, Emily’s mother, said her daughter was “in a good mood and on the path of healing”.
Doron Steinbrecher is a veterinary nurse who loves animals. She is the neighbor of Damari in the Kibbutz Kfar Aza. He is Israeli and Romanian citizen.
Doron Steinbrecher appeared in a video published by Hamas in January 2024, alongside two women Israeli soldiers. Her brother said that the video had given them hope that she was alive, but that she had aroused worries because she looked tired, weak and emaciated.
ADVERTISEMENT
