Stories of the people taken from Israel

Pelican Press · January 30

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Stories of the people taken from Israel

More than 15 months after the ******-led attacks on Israel that triggered the war in Gaza, a ceasefire agreement has come into effect, paving the way for a hostage release.

****** seized 251 people on 7 October 2023.

On Thursday, ****** released Agam Berger, 20, a soldier who had been kidnapped from the Nahal Oz military base. Two more Israeli hostages are due to be released, along with five Thai nationals as part of a separate agreement.

This is the third group to be released since the deal was agreed. Previously, ****** released three female IDF soldiers and, on the first day of the ceasefire, three other women.

During the first six-week phase of the ceasefire,

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. According to Israel, 86 hostages are still unaccounted for, although only 52 are believed to be alive.

In addition, ****** is still holding two men seized after crossing into Gaza from Israel before the war – Avera Mengistu, 27, an Ethiopian-Israeli dual national, and Hisham al-Sayed, 35, a Bedouin Arab, as well as the body of a soldier killed during a conflict in 2014.

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 30 January 2025.

[BBC]

Alexander (Sasha) Troufanov, 29, was taken hostage with his mother Lena, his partner Sapir Cohen, and his grandmother, Irina Tati. All were abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz as they spent the Sabbath together. Irina, Sapir and Lena were released in November 2023. Alexander is also on the list of 33 hostages due to be freed during the first phase of the deal.

Ariel Cunio, 27, and his partner Arbel Yahud, 29, were abducted in the same attack on Nir Oz. Eitan Cunio, Ariel’s brother who escaped ******, told the Jewish Chronicle that his last message from Ariel said: “We are in a horror movie.” Arbel is one of the the 33 hostages who should be freed.

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.

Ohad Ben Ami, 55, was kidnapped from Kibbutz Be’eri with his wife, Raz. She was later released by ******. Ohad was named as among the 33 hostages who should be released in the first phase of the ceasefire.

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.

Iraq-born Shlomo Mansour, 86, was taken captive from Kibbutz Kissufim, where he lived and worked as a chicken coop manager. His wife, Mazal, managed to escape. Shlomo is is on the Israeli government’s list of 33 hostages who should be released under the ceasefire deal.

IDF soldier Matan Angrest, 21, was on duty on 7 October and is presumed to be in Gaza.

Eli Sharabi, 52, was taken from Be’eri with his brother, Yossi, since confirmed dead. Eli’s

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in the attack. Ofir Engel, the boyfriend of Yossi’s daughter, Yuval, was also taken, but released on 29 November. The Israeli government said Eli was among the 33 hostages who should be released during the first phase of the deal.

***** 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 ******’s attack. *****’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 ******** national, was released on 30 November 2023.

Eitan *****, 38, and his brother Yair, 46, both Argentinian citizens, were also in Nir Oz at the time of the attack. Yair is a construction worker while Eitan works in education. Yair is set to be among the 33 hostages released in the first phase of the deal.

Keith Siegel, 65, and his wife Adrienne – often known as Aviva – Siegel, were taken from their home in Kfar Aza. Adrienne was released in November 2023. Keith is also on the list of 33 hostages due to be freed.

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.

Oded Lifshitz, 84, a retired journalist, was taken hostage from Nir Oz. His wife Yocheved was also kidnapped but she was freed in October 2023. Oded was named as one of the 33 hostages who should be freed during the first phase of the January 2025 ceasefire deal.

Itzik Elgarat, 69, was kidnapped from Nir Oz, and reportedly shot in the hand during the attack. His phone was traced to Gaza after the attack. Israel said Itzik was on the list of 33 hostages to be released.

Gadi Moses, 80, was also abducted from Nir Oz, where he worked as an agricultural expert. His partner, Efrat Katz, was killed in the attack. In September, his family told the Times of Israel that they had not heard any information about him since December 2023, when he appeared in a ****** propaganda video. Gadi is also on the list of 33 hostages who should be freed during the deal’s first phase.

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.

Tsachi Idan, 50, was taken away by ****** gunmen from his home in Nahal Oz. His eldest child, Maayan – who had just turned 18 – was shot dead in the attack. In August, Tsachi’s wife, Gali, told US TV that the last she had heard of her husband was a report from released hostages in November 2023. Tsachi is on the list of 33 hostages to be freed during the first phase of the deal.

Yarden Bibas, 34, was

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along with his wife, Shiri, and their two young children, Ariel and Kfir. ****** has claimed that Shiri, Ariel and Kfir were later killed in an Israeli bombing. In a TV interview in June, then-Israeli minister Benny Gantz indicated that the government knew what had happened to the Bibas family, but said it could not provide details yet. The Israeli government has said Shiri, Kfir, Ariel and Yarden are among the 33 hostages to be released.

Ofer Kalderon, 53, was taken by ****** from Nir Oz, along with his two children, Erez and Sahar. Two other family members – 80-year-old Carmela Dan and her granddaughter, Noya, 12 – were killed in the attack. In November 2023, Erez and Sahar were released. Ofer was also named on the list of 33 hostages due to be freed during the deal’s first phase.

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.

Ohad Yahalomi, 50, was abducted from Nir Oz, along with his 12-year-old son, Eitan, who was released during the November ceasefire. Ohad was also named on the list of 33 hostages who should be freed.

Tal Shoham, 39, was taken from Be’eri. His wife, Adi, their two young children, and his mother-in-law, Dr Shosham Haran, were also captured but released in November 2023. Dr Haran’s husband, Avshalom was killed during the attack. Israel said Tal was on the list of 33 hostages to be released during the first phase of the ceasefire deal.

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Sagui Dekel-Chen’s father has not heard from him since ****** attacked the kibbutz where he lived [Jonathan Dekel-Chen]

Sagui Dekel-Chen, 36, an American-Israeli citizen, has been missing since ******’s attack on Nir Oz. Since his abduction, his wife Avital has given birth to their third child, a girl named Shahar. Sagui is on the list of 33 hostages set to be released.

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[BBC]

A number of people were abducted from the

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in southern Israel. Among them:

Omer Shem Tov, 22, initially made a getaway in his car but was captured when he tried to rescue his friends, Maya and Itai Regev. All three were taken captive – the Regev siblings were released in November 2023, but they say they had been with Omer in captivity. Israel said Omer was on the list of 33 hostages who should be released during the first phase of the new ceasefire.

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.

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Guy Gilboa-Dalal was filmed in captivity in Gaza, his family say [Family handout]

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. ****** 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 ******.

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 ******. Since then, they say they have had no further information.

Eliya Cohen, 27, and his girlfriend initially hid from the attackers in a shelter, but he was discovered, and driven away. In June, ****** footage was released showing the moment Eliya and others were taken prisoner. Eliya is due to be among the 33 hostages freed in the first phase of the ceasefire deal.

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 ******, 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.

Omer Wenkert, 23, a restaurant manager, sent a message to his family to say he was going to a safe shelter but then lost contact. His family say they saw ****** video footage of Omer, including a photo of him handcuffed and wearing only underwear. Israel’s government said Omer was among the 33 hostages set to be freed during the first phase of the new ceasefire deal.

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 ****** in Gaza.

Or Levy, 34, fled the festival with his wife Eynav, and phoned his mother to say they were hiding in a bomb shelter. Israeli forces later told the family that Eynav’s body had been found in the shelter and that Or had been kidnapped. Israel named Or on the list of 33 hostages to be released in the first phase of the January 2025 deal.

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[BBC]

Thailand’s government says that six of its citizens are still being held hostage in Gaza.

Their names are Watchara Sriuan, Bannawat Seatho, Sathian Suwannakham, Nattapong Pinta, Pongsak Tanna and Surasak Lamnau.

Hostages who have died

A number of hostages are now known to have died while in captivity. Among them are the following:

On 1 September, the IDF announced that its forces had

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– Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi and Master Sgt Ori Danino. The IDF said that they had been murdered by ****** 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 ****** captivity –

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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 ****** 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

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and 65-year-old

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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.

And in January 2025, the body of

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, 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, 22, had been killed in ****** 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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