The hostages are civilians and soldiers, fathers and sons. Some were at the Nova music festival, where almost 400 people were killed and dozens kidnapped.
Their faces stare down from every street corner in Israel on posters now sun-faded and ripped. Their stories, told by anguished family members, are almost as well-known as celebrities. They are civilians and soldiers, fathers and sons. Some were at the Nova music festival, where almost 400 people were killed and dozens kidnapped.
On Monday, Hamas — which is designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S., Israel and many other nations — released 20 hostages into the custody of the Red Cross, which then brought them to Israel as part of a new ceasefire deal that many hope will signal an end to two years of war in the devastated Gaza Strip. Under the agreement, all living hostages were to be released, as well as the bodies of the deceased.
Also Monday, two hostages previously thought to be living were confirmed dead.
The war was triggered by the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack on Israel, when some 1,200 people were killed and 251 kidnapped.
The fighting has killed more than 67,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry, which doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants but says around half the deaths were women and children, and displaced around 90% of the Gaza population of some 2 million. The United Nations and many independent experts consider the ministry’s figures to be the most reliable estimate of wartime casualties in Gaza.
Prior to Monday’s release, there were 48 hostages held in Gaza, including the body of one soldier from a previous war. Israel had determined that at least 25 of the hostages were killed on Oct. 7, 2023, or died while in captivity. Just before the release of the first hostages under the ceasefire, Hamas informed Israel that two additional hostages were no longer alive, Tamir Nimrodi and Bipin Joshi. Israel had previously expressed « grave concern » over their status.
There is only one remaining female hostage, who Israel believes was killed in captivity.
Under the ceasefire agreement that took effect last Friday, the remaining hostages were to be released within 72 hours. Israel released around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange, including 250 people serving life sentences for convictions in attacks on Israelis, in addition to 1,700 seized from Gaza during the war and held without charge.
President Trump met with some of the hostage families at the Knesset before addressing Israeli lawmakers on Monday, the Hostage and Missing Families Forum said.
Here is a look at the 20 hostages released Monday:Gali Berman and Ziv Berman, 28
The fraternal twins were taken from their homes in kibbutz Kfar Aza, on the border with Gaza, during the Oct. 7 attack. Seventeen others were also abducted from Kfar Aza, but the Berman twins were the only hostages from the kibbutz who remained in captivity. The family had heard from hostages who returned in a previous deal that, as of February, the brothers were alive but being held separately. Liran Berman, their older brother, said it’s the longest the two have ever spent apart. In Kfar Aza, the twins lived in apartments across from each other. Gali is more outgoing, while Ziv is more reserved and shy with a sharp sense of humor, their brother said.Omri Miran, 48
Omri Miran was kidnapped from the Nahal Oz kibbutz. During the attack, terrorists held his family, including his two daughters, ages 2 and 6 months, hostage in the kitchen of a neighbor’s house and then broadcast it on Facebook Live. Miran and the father of the other family, Tsachi Idan, were kidnapped. Idan’s body was released during the last hostage exchange after he was killed in captivity. Lishay Miran Lavi, Miran’s wife, said their younger daughter knew « daddy Omri » only through photos and videos, and didn’t really understand what a father is. Moshe Lavi, Miran’s brother who lives in New York City, told CBS News New York that Miran’s sister and two young nieces survived the mental and physical torture on Oct, 7, but watched as Miran was taken away to Gaza.Matan Angrest, 22
Matan Angrest, an Israeli soldier, was taken from his military tank in southern Israel. He is the oldest of four children from Kiryat Bialik, outside of Haifa. His family has been among the most vocal protesters and very critical of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Last Tuesday, which marked two years since the Oct. 7 attack, his mother, Anat Angrest, addressed her son at a rally. « I know you’re in pain, and I can’t hug you. I hear you whisper, ‘Come for me, Mom’, and I can’t protect you », she said.Eitan Mor, 25
Eitan Mor was working as a security guard at the Nova music festival, where he helped evacuate people injured in the attack. Mor’s parents helped found the Tikva Forum, a loosely organized group of hostage families. They advocated for military pressure, not an immediate ceasefire or hostage release deal, as the best chance for bringing the hostages home. That stance has put Mor’s father at odds with many of the other families of hostages. The Israeli military released a photo on Monday showing Eitan Mor beaming in an embrace with his parents.Alon Ohel, 24
Alon Ohel, who also has German and Serbian citizenship, was kidnapped at the Nova music festival from a mobile bomb shelter along with Hersh Goldberg-Polin, an American-Israeli who was killed in captivity in August 2024.
