More than 15 months after the Hamas-led attacks on Israel that triggered the war in Gaza, a ceasefire agreement was put into place, resulting in the release of some hostages held in Gaza in exchange for Palestinians held in Israeli prisons. On Saturday, February 15, three hostages were released by Hamas after concerns over the future of the ceasefire. These hostages included Russian-Israeli Alexander Troufanov, Argentinian-Israeli Yair Horn, and US-Israeli Sagui Dekel-Chen.
Hamas initially seized 251 people on October 7, 2023. Currently, 70 individuals are believed to still be in Gaza, with only 35 of them thought to be alive. Additionally, three hostages were taken before October 7 and are still being held by Hamas. As part of the ceasefire agreement, a total of 33 hostages are set to be released in exchange for around 1,900 Palestinian prisoners and detainees in Israeli custody.
The stories of the hostages still being held have been confirmed by the BBC or are considered credible reports. This list is continuously updated as names may change due to individuals being confirmed as either deceased or released. As of the latest update on February 15, 2025, the following individuals are among those still being held captive:
– Ariel Cunio, 27, abducted from Nir Oz
– David Cunio, 34, also taken from Nir Oz
– Gali and Ziv Berman, 27, taken from Kfar Aza
– Matan Angrest, 21, presumed to be in Gaza
– Edan Alexander, 20, an Israeli-US citizen
– Matan Zanguaker, 24, and Ilana Gritzewsky, 31, taken from Nir Oz
– Eitan Horn, 38, and Yair Horn, 46, taken from Nir Oz
– Shiri Bibas, 33, Ariel, and Kfir, abducted from Nir Oz
– Bipin Joshi, 23, a Nepalese agriculture student
– Oded Lifshitz, 84, a retired journalist taken from Nir Oz
– Itzik Elgarat, 69, abducted from Nir Oz
– Nimrod Cohen, 20, taken from Nahal Oz
– Tsachi Idan, 50, kidnapped from Nahal Oz
– Omri Miran, 47, abducted from Nahal Oz
– Ohad Yahalomi, 50, kidnapped from Nir Oz
– Tal Shoham, 39, taken from Be’eri
Additionally, individuals who were abducted from the Supernova music festival in southern Israel include Omer Shem Tov, Yosef Ohana, Avinatan Or, Guy Gilboa-Dalal, Eitan Mor, Alon Ohel, Maxim Kharkin, Segev Kalfon, Bar Kuperstein, Eliya Cohen, Elkana Bohbot, Rom Braslavski, and Omer Wenkert. These individuals are also set to be among the 33 hostages to be released in the first phase of the ceasefire agreement.