The names of the 13 Israeli women and children released under a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas were released after they were returned to their homes on Friday.
The nine adults and four children, aged two to 85, were transported to Egypt by the International Red Cross on Friday through the Rafah border crossing, while 39 Palestinian prisoners were released from Israeli prisons.
They have since been handed over to Israeli authorities, who immediately transported them, along with 10 Thais and one Filipino, to Israel, where they will undergo a medical examination to ensure they are okay.
The names of some of those released on Friday have already emerged following Hamas’ murderous invasion of Israel on October 7, when their heartbroken relatives pleaded with the Israeli government to bring them home.
But the fight continues at the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which has been campaigning for the release of the 240 hostages believed to have been taken to Gaza by Hamas following the terror attack 48 days ago.
Asher family: Doron, 34, Raz, four, Aviv, two
Doron Katz Asher, 34, is among the first Israeli hostages released by Hamas
Their children Raz, four (left) and Aviv, two (right), were also kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz by Hamas militants
Footage posted online appeared to show Ms Asher and her children being loaded into a cart and taken back to Gaza on October 7
Doron Asher’s husband, Yoni Asher, appealed for her safe return at a press conference last month
Doron Katz Asher, 34, and her daughters Raz, four, and Aviv, two, are among the 13 Israelis who have been released.
She was visiting her mother at Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7 when Hamas attacked.
Husband Yoni Asher previously said he received a panicked call from his wife telling him terrorists had stormed the house – and his heart sank when he saw a video of her being loaded into a cart by Hamas terrorists became.
“I certainly identified my wife, my two daughters and my mother-in-law on some kind of cart, and Hamas terrorists all around them,” he said in the days after the attack.
In desperation, Mr. Asher appealed directly to Hamas not to harm his family and even offered to barter for their safe return.
Family Aloni Daniele, 45, and Emilia, six
Daniele Aloni and her daughter Emilia, along with other members of her extended family, were also kidnapped from Nir Oz by Hamas
Ms. Aloni (center) later appeared, along with Rimon Buchshtab Kirsht and Lena Trupanov, in a Hamas propaganda video criticizing the Israeli government’s response to the hostage crisis
Ms Aloni’s husband Moran said his wife sent him a “horrifying” voice message on the day of the attacks in which she told him: “We don’t think we’re going to make it.”
Daniele Aloni, 45, and her daughter Emilia Aloni, six, were also captured in Nir Oz, along with Daniele’s sister Sharon Aloni Cunio, her husband David Cunio and their three-year-old twin girls Ema and Yuly.
Her husband Moran, speaking to Israel’s national newspaper Israel Hayom, told how the family was lured from a safe room by Hamas terrorists by setting their house on fire.
Recalling the events of October 7, he said: “On Saturday morning my sister sent me… the terrorists are in our house and she sends us a frightening voice message: ‘We can hear them in the house. They burn the house down.” Smoke comes under the door. We don’t think we can do it. We love you.”
“Their last message was: “Help! We die.”
Ms Aloni later appeared alongside two other Hamas hostages in a propaganda video by the terror group, in which the trio criticized the Israeli government’s response to the hostage crisis.
The fate of the other members of her extended family remains unknown.
Munder family: Ohad, nine, Keren, 54, Ruth, 78
Keren Munder with her son Ohad Munder-Zichri. The couple were kidnapped by Hamas on October 7 and Ohad celebrated his ninth birthday in captivity
Ms Munder’s mother Ruth, 78, was released as part of the hostage deal between Israel and Hamas
The Munder family – nine-year-old Ohad Munder-Zichri, his mother Keren Munder, 54, and grandmother Ruth Munder, 78, were abducted from Nir Oz along with Ruth’s husband Abraham.
The AP news agency reports that Keren is a special education teacher and volleyball coach for children with disabilities.
Ohad was eight years old at the time of the October 7 attacks; He celebrated his ninth birthday in captivity, relatives told Yahoo! News.
His cousin Itay Raviv told the news website days before the deal was finalized: “We missed Ohad’s birthday.” “When he comes back, when they all come back, we will have a birthday every day.”
Abraham’s fate remains unknown.
Adina Moshe, 72
Adina Moshe, 72, is among 13 Israeli hostages released by Hamas on Friday
A woman holds a portrait of Adina Moshe, who was kidnapped by Hamas on October 7 after her husband Said was shot
Adina (in red) is sandwiched between two Hamas fighters as they are taken to Gaza on October 7
Adina Moshe, 72, was arrested by Hamas after her husband Said was shot dead by the terrorists as he tried to stop them from entering their safe room in Nir Oz.
Web spoke to locals on the kibbutz following the attack, who recounted the heartbreaking moment when her husband gave his life to protect her.
A kibbutz spokesman named Ron said, “Said held the door of their safe room shut with his bare hands.” Hamas couldn’t get in, so they broke the window.
“They shot Said and kidnapped Adina. When we found him he was still holding the door handle.’
In a photo distributed by a news agency after the attacks began, she was reportedly identified as a woman sitting on a motorcycle between two Hamas fighters.
Hanna Katzir, 77
Hanna Katzir is believed to have died in captivity in Palestine, according to the Gaza-based terrorist group Islamic Jihad
Ms. Katzir had been seen alive in a propaganda clip broadcast by Palestinian Islamic Jihad on November 9, 2023, before her death was falsely announced
People watching a news program on Friday about the release of the Israeli hostage reacted when it emerged that Hanna Katzir was alive
Hanna Katzir, 77, is believed to have died in captivity; Another terrorist group operating in Gaza, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, claimed it was dead.
The PIJ – which, like Hamas, is a banned group in Britain – falsely claimed that Israel’s “hesitation” had “resulted in the loss of their lives”.
She was seen in a video released by PIJ before the false announcement saying: “I miss my home, my children, my husband Rami and the whole, dear, beloved family.”
Israeli analyst Eli Kowaz, a senior adviser at the Israel Policy Forum, wrote that the fake reports about Ms. Katzir’s death were “psychological warfare.”
“This sick manipulation is the psychological war that will intensify in the coming days,” he said wrote on Xformerly Twitter.
Photos taken in Tel Aviv show people reacting emotionally to the news that Ms. Katzir is alive.
Ms. Katzir, a mother of three and grandmother of six, was taken hostage from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7 along with her son and dozens of their neighbors.
Her husband, Avraham “Rami,” was murdered while her son Elad remains in captivity. There has been no further information about him since his arrest.
Margalit Mozes
Grandmother Margalit Mozes, 78, was kidnapped by Hamas from Nir Oz during the October 7 terrorist attack.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum described her as “a devoted grandmother, dedicated nature lover and bird watcher.” She loves hiking and knitting.
The Times of Israel reports that Ms. Mozes was a cancer survivor and was taken along with her ex-husband Gadi, who is believed to remain in captivity.
Ms. Mozes has German citizenship and her children met with Chancellor Olaf Scholz to gain his support in pressuring Hamas to release them.
The German news site T-Online reports that she has a doctorate in biology and has traveled to Palestinian areas to advise local farmers.
Channah Peri
Channa (aka Channah) Peri, 79, was kidnapped by Hamas militants who cruelly used her phone to send her daughter pictures of her in captivity
Hamas used her phone to take a photo of her and her son Nadav Popplewell
Ms Peri, 79, was taken hostage along with her son Nadav Popplewell at Kibbutz Nirim, a mile from Gaza – but killed Nadav’s brother Roi during the attack.
Her daughter, Ayelet Svatitzky, had previously exposed cruel Hamas gunmen, then took photos of their prisoners on her cell phone and sent them to her with the caption “Hamas.”
Ms Svatitzky, 46, said in October: “Someone took photos of her and my brother on my mother’s phone and then sent them to me with a message in English: ‘Hamas.’ That was the last time I heard from them. My neighbor looked out the window and saw my mother being brought out.
“Then my 54-year-old brother Roi, who lives in another neighborhood, was found – he was shot behind his house.”
Roi is one of around 12 to 14 British nationals believed to have been killed by Hamas on October 7. Nadav is said to still be in captivity.
Yafa Adar
Yafa Adar is transported to Gaza in a golf cart by Hamas armed terrorists following the October 7 attacks
Yafa Adar, also known as Yaffa, 85, came to prominence after she was transported to Gaza on board a golf cart by Hamas terrorists.
Her daughter Adva, who called for her release in the days after Oct. 7, said she was dependent on medication and was likely in “severe pain.”
She told Sky News on October 9: “We’ve seen the videos showing men with guns taking them to Gaza. “I can’t imagine how scared she is.”