New Delhi: Hamas has handed over its last surviving hostages held in Gaza to Israel. In exchange, Israel released approximately 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees. This occurred under the Israel-Hamas ceasefire.
A few days earlier, on October 13th, Hamas released the first group of hostages. Later, Hamas also handed over the bodies of some hostages it had previously held alive but who had now died.
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Hostages Abducted from the Nova Music Festival
Most of the released hostages were abducted from the Nova Music Festival, which took place near Kibbutz Re’im in southern Israel.
Prominent names include
Evyatar David (24): He was featured in a video by Hamas in August, looking extremely thin and digging his own grave. Pianist Alon Ohel (24) and Avinatan Or (32): He was kidnapped while his girlfriend, Noa Arghamani, was crying and trying to hold him.
Noa was freed in June, and the two have now been reunited.
Abducted from a Kibbutz
Seven hostages were abducted from a kibbutz (small Israeli village near the Gaza border). They include: Gali and Zeev Berman (28)—twin siblings, Ariel Kunio (28) and David Kunio (35)—David’s wife and daughters were already released in November 2023.
Israeli Soldiers
Two young soldiers were also released: Matan Angrest (22), Nimrod Cohen (20). Both were captured in the October 7 fighting.
Status of Foreign Nationals
Of the 16 hostages still in Gaza, two are foreign nationals: A Tanzanian student and A Thai worker—both have now been declared dead. Hamas has also returned the bodies of Nepali student Bipin Joshi and Thai national Sonthaya Okkarasri.
Those Still in Gaza Declared Dead
The 16 hostages still in Gaza have been declared dead by the Israeli government. Some were already dead, some were executed by Hamas, and some were killed in Israeli attacks. One was a soldier captured in 2014.
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Hamas stated that finding some of the bodies will be difficult because not all burial locations are known. An international task force has been formed for this purpose.