Table of Contents
When Hamas militants carried out the worst ever attack on Israel, they took 251 hostages into the Gaza Strip, some of them already dead. A year later, 64 people, including two children, are still in captivity and Israel believes they are still alive.
For the Palestinian militant group that rules the Gaza Strip, the hostages are key bargaining chips as they negotiate a ceasefire with Israel and seek the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons.
Here’s what we know about the hostages still held in Gaza.
52 men, 10 women, two children
Of the 251 hostages seized by militants on October 7, 2023, 117 have been released, most of them women, children and foreign workers.
Most were released during a weeklong ceasefire in late November in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons.
Nearly a year later, Israel believes 64 hostages still held in Gaza are still alive.
The army has confirmed that 70 others are dead, 33 of whom remain in Gaza.
The army has repatriated the bodies of 37 hostages who were killed in Gaza or murdered on October 7 and brought to the area.
Of the 64 believed to be alive, 57 are Israelis, although some of them have more than one nationality. Another six are Thai nationals and one is Nepalese.
Fifty-two are men and 10 are women. Eleven are soldiers.
Two are children.
The youngest hostage, Kfir, was only eight and a half months old when he was kidnapped. The other is his brother Ariel, who was only four years old when he was taken to Gaza.
Hamas has said the two children are dead, but Israel has not confirmed this.
No evidence of life
Since the ceasefire ended on December 1, only seven other hostages have been released alive, all during Israeli military operations.
With no evidence of life, uncertainty remains as to whether the 64 are still alive.
Hamas’ armed wing said on August 12 that its fighters had shot dead an Israeli hostage and wounded two others.
Hamas has on several occasions announced the deaths of hostages that have not been confirmed by Israel, leaving families in an agonizing situation.
Bodies taken to Gaza
On October 7, Hamas militants took several dead into Gaza, including the bodies of ten Israeli soldiers.
At least 28 other hostages have died in the area since the war began.
Three were mistakenly killed by the Israeli army on December 15, 2023. They were Yotam Haim, 28, Samer El-Talalqa and Alon Shamriz, 26.
The Israeli army accuses Hamas of executing six others in August: Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Alexander Lobonov, Almog Sarusi and Ori Danino.
They were found dead by soldiers in a tunnel in Rafah, southern Gaza.
Festival, survivors of the kibbutz
Most of the hostages were taken during the attack on Kibbutz Nir Oz and the Nova music festival.
In Kibbutz Nir Oz, of at least 76 hostages captured on October 7, 40 were released alive. Another twenty are still in Gaza and are believed to be alive. The remaining 16 are dead.
Only 17 people kidnapped during the festival are believed to be alive and still being held in Gaza.
Only nine of at least 43 hostages from Nova have been released, while 17 others have died.
Whole families
On October 7, entire families were taken to Gaza. For them, the November 2023 ceasefire brought relief, but also the sadness of leaving loved ones behind.
The French-Israeli children Eitan, Erez and Sahar were released, but their fathers Ohad Yahalomi and Ofer Kalderon remain in custody.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)