More than 15 months after the Hamas-led attacks on Israel that triggered the war in Gaza, a ceasefire agreement came into effect, leading to the release of some hostages held in Gaza in exchange for Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.
On Saturday 15 February, Hamas released three hostages after days of fears over the future of the ceasefire.
They are Russian-Israeli Alexander Troufanov, Argentinian-Israeli Yair Horn, and US-Israeli Sagui Dekel-Chen.
Hamas seized 251 people on 7 October 2023. Seventy of them are still thought to be in Gaza, although only 35 of them are believed to be alive.
A further three hostages, two of whom are still alive, were taken before 7 October and are still being held by Hamas.
During the first six-week phase of the ceasefire, a total of 33 hostages should be freed in exchange for around 1,900 Palestinian prisoners and detainees in Israel.
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 15 February 2025.
[BBC]
Ariel Cunio, 27, was abducted in the same attack on Nir Oz. Eitan Cunio, Ariel’s brother who escaped Hamas, told the Jewish Chronicle that his last message from Ariel said: “We are in a horror movie.” His partner Arbel Yehud, 29, was freed on 30 January 2025 under the ceasefire agreement.
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.
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.
IDF soldier Matan Angrest, 21, was on duty on 7 October and is presumed to be in Gaza.
Edan 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 Hamas’s attack. Edan’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 Mexican national, was released on 30 November 2023.
Eitan Horn, 38, an Argentinian citizen, was taken with his brother Yair, 46, from Nir Oz at the time of the attack. Eitan works in education and remains in Gaza while Yair was released on 15 February.
Shiri Bibas, 33, and her two sons Ariel and Kfir, aged five and two, are on the list of 33 to be released in phase one of the ceasefire. They were taken from Nir Oz together with Shiri’s husband, Yarden, who was released on 1 Feb 2025. In November 2023, Hamas claimed they had been killed in an IDF air strike but Israel has never officially confirmed the report.
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.
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 Hamas 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.
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.
[BBC]
A number of people were abducted from the Supernova music festival 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.
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. Hamas 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 Hamas.
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 Hamas. 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, Hamas 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 Hamas, 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 Hamas 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 Hamas in Gaza.
[BBC]
One Thai hostage named Nattapong Pinta remains unaccounted for, after the release of five others on 30 January 2025.
Hostages whose death Israel has confirmed
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 recovered the bodies of six hostages – 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 Hamas 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 Hamas captivity – had been extracted from Gaza 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 Hamas 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 Noa Marciano and 65-year-old Yehudit Weiss 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.
In January 2025, the body of Yousef Zyadna, 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 Hamas 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.
And in February 2025, the IDF said it had informed the family of Iraq-born Shlomo Mansour, 86, that he was killed by Hamas on 7 October 2023 and his body taken to Gaza. He is on the Israeli government’s list of 33 hostages who should be released first under the ceasefire deal.
Research by Jamie Ryan and Emma Pengelly
More on Israel-Gaza war
[BBC]
Are you personally affected by the issues raised in this story? If it is safe to do so, please get in touch by emailing [email protected].
Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also get in touch in the following ways:
If you are reading this page and can’t see the form you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or comment or you can email us at [email protected]. Please include your name, age and location with any submission.
