Israel-Hamas war: All of the Israeli hostages released so far
One hundred and three prisoners freed by Palestinian group in total, including 79 Israelis, before extended ceasefire ends and fighting returns to Gaza
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Your support makes all the difference.Hamas released a further eight Israeli hostages on Thursday before the extended ceasefire between the two sides finally broke down.
The Palestinian group released 13 of the 240 Israelis its forces captured during the 7 October attack on Friday 24 November, then another 13 on Saturday, 14 on Sunday, 11 on Monday, 10 on Tuesday and 10 on Wednesday before the final tranche took the total to 79.
Hamas also released 10 Thai nationals and a Filipino man on Friday, another four Thai citizens on Saturday, three more on Sunday, another two on Tuesday and two more on Wednesday, as well as two Russian nationals, meaning that, in total, 103 people abducted from Israel have now been allowed to return home.
Israel has in turn set free 240 Palestinian captives over the course of the week in which the fighting in Gaza was paused.
However, the deadline for talks has now expired and the fighting duly resumed in the early hours of the morning of Friday 1 December, with loud air strikes heard and towering plumes of rocket smoke once more seen in the skies over Gaza City.
Here, we take a look at all the names of the Israeli hostages released.
Friday 24 November
Three generations of the Munder family were among those let go by Hamas on the first day of the ceasefire: grandmother Ruth, her daughter Keren and grandson Ohad.
The latter marked his ninth birthday in captivity after he and his relatives were abducted from the Nir Or kibbutz on 7 October.
Ruth Munder has since described her ordeal to Israeli television, saying that, despite initially being supplied with sufficient food, the conditions in which she was kept deteriorated and that she spent almost 50 days sleeping in a plastic chair with only a sheet for cover.
Cancer survivor Margalit Moses was also freed, as were the mothers Danielle Aloni and Doron Katz Asher with their young daughters.
- Doron Katz Asher, 34
- Raz Asher, 4
- Aviv Asher, 2
- Danielle Aloni, 45
- Emilia Aloni, 5
- Ruth Munder, 78
- Keren Munder, 54
- Ohad Munder, 9
- Adina Moshe, 72
- Chana Katzir, 76
- Margalit Moses, 77
- Chana Peri, 79
- Yaffa Adar, 85
Saturday 25 November
The 13 released on Saturday night were mainly abducted from the Be’eri kibbutz and included grandmother Shoshan Haran and her three-year-old granddaughter Yahel.
Sharon Hertzman Avigdori and her daughter Noam Avigdori, who had been visiting Sharon’s sister when the attack occurred and lost seven family members that day, were also released.
Noam and Alma Or, also freed, lost their mother Yonat on 7 October.
The Irish-Israeli schoolgirl Emily Hand, who was taken from Be’eri, was also part of this group, as were Hila Rotem Shoshani and Maya Regev Jirbi, two young women who had only just returned to Israel from holidays abroad.
Hand has since been reunited with her father Tom, who thanked the public for their support but said his daughter is currently reluctant to speak above a whisper following her ordeal.
- Noam Or, 16
- Alma Or, 13
- Shiri Weiss, 53
- Noga Weiss, 18
- Sharon Hertzman Avigdori, 52
- Noam Avigdori, 12
- Shoshan Haran, 67
- Adi Shoham, 38
- Naveh Shoham, 8
- Yahel Shoham, 3
- Hila Rotem Shoshani, 12
- Emily Hand, 9
- Maya Regev Jirbi, 21
Sunday 26 November
Elma Avraham is one of the oldest people to have been released from Gaza so far and has had to be taken into hospital in Israel. She is reportedly in a serious condition, having arrived with a worryingly low heart rate and body temperature.
Sunday’s freed hostages also included four members of both the Goldstein-Almog and Brodetz families, the mothers Chen and Hagar each accompanying their three children home.
A video of the Brodetz children being joyously reunited with their family dog has already gone viral.
Most heartbreaking of all is the case of Abigail Edan, a four-year-old Israeli-American girl who is now an orphan after both of her parents were killed on 7 October.
US president Joe Biden has expressed his sorrow at her case and said that the trauma she has been exposed to was “unthinkable”.
- Abigail Edan, 4
- Elma Avraham, 84
- Aviva Adrienne Siegel, 62
- Ron Krivoi, 25
- Hagar Brodetz, 40
- Ofri Brodetz, 10
- Yuval Brodetz, 8
- Oriya Brodetz, 4
- Chen Goldstein-Almog, 48
- Agam Goldstein-Almog, 17
- Gal Goldstein-Almog, 11
- Tal Goldstein-Almog, 8
- Dafna Elyakim, 15
- Ela Elyakim, 8
Monday 27 November
All 11 released on Monday were also abducted from Nir Oz and the group included nine children, notably the twins sisters Yuli and Emma Cunio, aged just three, who were freed with their mother Sharon Aloni-Cunio.
Karina Engel-Bart was also set free with her children Mika and Yuval, as were the siblings Or and Yagil Yaakov, although all three families still have loved ones being held by Hamas.
- Eitan Yahalomi, 12
- Karina Engel-Bart, 51
- Mika Engel, 18
- Yuval Engel, 12
- Sharon Aloni-Cunio, 34
- Yuli Cunio, 3
- Emma Cunio, 3
- Sahar Calderon , 16
- Erez Calderon, 12
- Or Yaakov, 16
- Yagil Yaakov, 12
Tuesday 28 November
Teenager Mia Leimberg, 17, was the youngest of those freed during Tuesday’s extension. She was released alongside her mother Gabriela and her aunt Clara Marman.
Two of the teen’s uncles, one of whom is Clara’s husband, remain in Gaza.
Ditza Hayman, a retired social worker, was the eldest hostage to be released. Her family raised concerns after she was taken as she requires anticoagulant medication.
- Rimon Kirsht, 36
- Clara Marman, 63,
- Gabriela Leimberg, 59
- Mia Leimberg, 17
- Ofelia Roitman, 77
- Ditza Heiman, 84
- Tamar Metzger, 78
- Merav Tal, 53
- Ada Sagi, 75
- Noralin Babadilla, 60
Wednesday 29 November
Those released by Hamas on Wednesday included five teenagers and five adults abducted from the Be’eri and Nir Ori kibbutzes or the Re’im music festival on 7 October.
- Liam Or, 18
- Liat Atzili, 49
- Moran Stela Yanai, 40
- Raz Ben-Ami, 57
- Raya Rotem, 54,
- Yarden Roman, 36
- Itay Regev, 18
- Amit Shani, 16
- Ofir Engel, 17
- Gali Tarshanksy, 13
Thursday 30 November
On what looks like being the final date of the present truce, a further eight Israelis were freed by Hamas, six adult women and two teen siblings.
The first to be released earlier in the day was the lawyer Amit Soussasna, who was abducted from the Kfar Aza kibbutz and the French-Israeli woman Mia Schem, whose liberation was cheered by French president Emmanuel Macron.
- Mia Schem, 21
- Amit Soussana, 40
- Shani Goren, 29
- Nili Margalit, 41
- Ilana Gritzewsky, 30
- Sapir Cohen, 29
- Bilal Zyadna, 18
- Aisha Zyadna, 16
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