Israel-Hamas war: All of the Israeli hostages released so far

Hamas released a further 10 Israeli hostages on Wednesday as the extended ceasefire between the two sides continued to hold.

The Palestinian group released 13 of the 240 Israelis its forces captured during the 7 October attack on Friday, then another 13 on Saturday, 14 on Sunday, 11 on Monday and 10 on Tuesday before the latest tranche took the total to 71.

Hamas also released 10 Thai nationals and a Filipino man on Friday, another four Thai citizens on Saturday, three more on Sunday, another two on Tuesday and two more on Wednesday, as well as two Russian nationals.

Israel has in turn set free 210 Palestinian captives and the pause in the fighting has been extended to allow for the exchange of further prisoners, an indication that more people caught up in the conflict in Gaza could be brought home.

However, the situation remains extremely tense, with both sides accusing each other of breaching the terms of the ceasefire and thoughts already turning to the prospect of hostilities resuming once the deadline for talks expires.

Here, we take a look at all the names of the Israeli hostages released so far.

Friday 24 November

Three generations of the Munder family were among those let go by Hamas on the first day of the ceasefire: grandmother Ruth, her daughter Keren and grandson Ohad.

The latter marked his ninth birthday in captivity after he and his relatives were abducted from the Nir Or kibbutz on 7 October.

Ruth Munder has since described her ordeal to Israeli television, saying that, despite initially being supplied with sufficient food, the conditions in which she was kept deteriorated and that she spent almost 50 days sleeping in a plastic chair with only a sheet for cover.

Cancer survivor Margalit Moses was also freed, as were the mothers Danielle Aloni and Doron Katz Asher with their young daughters.

Saturday 25 November

The 13 released on Saturday night were mainly abducted from the Be’eri kibbutz and included grandmother Shoshan Haran and her three-year-old granddaughter Yahel.

Sharon Hertzman Avigdori and her daughter Noam Avigdori, who had been visiting Sharon’s sister when the attack occurred and lost seven family members that day, were also released.

Noam and Alma Or, also freed, lost their mother Yonat on 7 October.

The Irish-Israeli schoolgirl Emily Hand, who was taken from Be’eri, was also part of this group, as were Hila Rotem Shoshani and Maya Regev Jirbi, two young women who had only just returned to Israel from holidays abroad.

Hand has since been reunited with her father Tom, who thanked the public for their support but said his daughter is currently reluctant to speak above a whisper following her ordeal.

Sunday 26 November

Elma Avraham is one of the oldest people to have been released from Gaza so far and has had to be taken into hospital in Israel. She is reportedly in a serious condition, having arrived with a worryingly low heart rate and body temperature.

Sunday’s freed hostages also included four members of both the Goldstein-Almog and Brodetz families, the mothers Chen and Hagar each accompanying their three children home.

A video of the Brodetz children being joyously reunited with their family dog has already gone viral.

Most heartbreaking of all is the case of Abigail Edan, a four-year-old Israeli-American girl who is now an orphan after both of her parents were killed on 7 October.

US president Joe Biden has expressed his sorrow at her case and said that the trauma she has been exposed to was “unthinkable”.

Monday 27 November

All 11 released on Monday were also abducted from Nir Oz and the group included nine children, notably the twins sisters Yuli and Emma Cunio, aged just three, who were freed with their mother Sharon Aloni-Cunio.

Karina Engel-Bart was also set free with her children Mika and Yuval, as were the siblings Or and Yagil Yaakov, although all three families still have loved ones being held by Hamas.

Tuesday 28 November

Teenager Mia Leimberg, 17, was the youngest of those freed during Tuesday’s extension. She was released alongside her mother Gabriela and her aunt Clara Marman.

Two of the teen’s uncles, one of whom is Clara’s husband, remain in Gaza.

Ditza Hayman, a retired social worker, was the eldest hostage to be released. Her family raised concerns after she was taken as she requires anticoagulant medication.

Wednesday 29 November

Those released by Hamas on Wednesday included five teenagers and five adults abducted from the Be’eri and Nir Ori kibbutzes or the Re’im music festival on 7 October.