Hamas on Tuesday released a group of 12 hostages, most of them Israelis or dual citizens, but including two Thai nationals, all of whom were kidnapped during the Hamas-led terror attacks in Israel on October 7.
It was the fifth group to be released since a temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hamas came into effect on Friday.
Here’s what we know about the Israeli hostages released on Tuesday.
Clara Marman, 63; Mia Leimberg, 17; Gabriela Leimberg, 59
Clara Marman, Mia Leimberg and Gabriela Leimberg.Credit…Forum on hostages and missing families
Ms. Marman, 63, a member of Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak, was taken hostage on Oct. 7 along with her partner Luis Norberto Har and three visiting family members: a brother, Fernando Marman, 60; a sister, Gabriela Leimberg, 59; and Ms. Leimberg’s 17-year-old daughter, Mia Leimberg, a high school senior who lives in Jerusalem.
Moshe Leimberg, Gabriela’s husband and Mia’s father, stayed at home in Jerusalem that day because he was sick with the flu.
In a statement posted on LinkedIn, Mr. Leimberg said he had not heard from or about his wife and daughter since Oct. 7. “Not a word, not a picture,” he wrote. “They simply disappeared, leaving behind a few scattered personal items, almost as if they never existed.”
Their absence, he said, “has left a gaping hole.”
Gabriela Leimberg is the head of a daycare center for young adults with autism. The organization, the Shekel Association, has called for the family’s release.
According to the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum, Mia Leimberg, who is known for her singing voice, studied at Jersualem High School of the Arts and also worked at a bookstore. The family dog was taken with the family; On Tuesday, videos on local news outlets showed Mia carrying a dog as she approached International Committee of the Red Cross vehicles.
A banner hangs at Mia’s high school that reads, “We’re waiting for you to come back, Mia.”
Mr. Har and Mr. Marman are believed to still be in Gaza.
Ditza Heiman, 84
Ditza HeimanCredit…Forum on hostages and missing families
Ditza Heiman, 84, was one of the first members of Kibbutz Nir Oz and had spent her entire adult life on the kibbutz, her son Gideon Heiman said at a Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum news conference earlier this month.
Ms. Heiman, who worked as a social worker, retired shortly before she turned 80, Mr. Heiman said. “She spent her whole life helping and caring for people,” he said.
Ms. Heiman requires anticoagulant medication and has suffered from a pulmonary embolism in the past, Dr. Sharon Kleitman, the family doctor at Kibbutz Nir Oz, at the same press conference.
“My mother is not a healthy woman and needs medication,” Mr. Heiman said.
When the family tried to call Ms. Heiman on the day of the attack, someone picked up and said, “This is Hamas,” her daughter Neta Heiman said in a video posted by the forum.
“When I imagine my mother there, she takes care of everyone,” Ms. Heiman said in the video, adding: “That’s my mother.” She will take care of everyone if she can. If only they let her.”
“My mother and many of her friends in Kibbutz Nir Oz who were massacred were people of peace,” Neta Heiman said in an opinion piece in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, adding: “My mother and her friends just wanted them to do it .”Live in peace in the little Eden they had built there in the desert.”
Tamar Metzger, 78
Tamar MetzgerCredit…Forum on hostages and missing families
According to a report in the Times of Israel, Tamar Metzger, 78, was taken hostage along with her husband Yoram Metzger from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7. The couple has three children and seven grandchildren.
According to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, she had worked at the kibbutz’s kindergarten and managed the general store, but in recent years had been a full-time grandmother and spent much of her time caring for her grandchildren.
According to the forum, Tamar has limited mobility and spends a lot of time on her balcony, reading, doing crossword puzzles and smoking cigarettes.
Her husband is believed to remain in Gaza.
Noralin Babadila, 60
Noralin Babadila Agojo.Credit…Hostages and Missing Families Forum
Noralin Babadila, 60, was visiting friends at Kibbutz Nirim on October 7 when terrorists attacked, killing her partner Gideon Babani and taking her hostage. This weekend the kibbutz celebrated the anniversary of its founding.
Ms. Babadila was born in the Philippines but lived in Yehud, a city in central Israel. A Times of Israel report said she spoke to her brother on the phone early on the morning of October 7 and told him that she was scared and might not return.
Ada Sagi, 75
Ada Sagi.Credit…Hostages and Missing Families Forum
Ada Sagi, 75, a resident of Kibbutz Nir Oz, has taught Hebrew and Arabic, according to the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum.
The child of Holocaust survivors from Poland, she moved to a kibbutz when she was 18, according to the Associated Press.
She was preparing for a planned trip to London to visit her family and celebrate her 75th birthday when she was kidnapped on October 7.
Meirav Tal, 53
Meirav TalCredit…Hostage and Missing Families Forum
Meirav Tal, 53, her boyfriend Yair Yaakov and his children Or, 16, and Yagil, 12, were all taken hostage from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7.
Both Or and Yagil were released on Monday, the fourth day of the ceasefire, as part of a group of 11 released Israeli hostages.
Yair Yaakov is believed to remain in Gaza.
Rimon Kirsht, 36
Rimon Kirscht.Credit…Hostage and Missing Families Forum
Rimon Kirsht, 36, and her husband Yagev Buchshtab, 34, were kidnapped from Kibbutz Nirim on October 7.
The couple married two years ago, according to the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum, and had five dogs and five cats, most of which had been abused before they were adopted.
Ms. Kirsht practices alternative medicine and reflexology and worked as a volunteer at Maslan, a support center for victims of sexual assault and domestic violence in southern Israel.
According to the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum, Ms. Kirsht loves growing plants, adopting and raising animals, and listening to music, preferring Israeli bands such as Guns N’Roses and U2.
Ms. Kirsht appeared in a hostage video released by Hamas in late October. Mr Buchshtab is believed to remain in Gaza.
Ofelia Adit Roitman77
Ophelia RoitmanCredit…Hostages and Missing Families Forum
Ofelia Roitman, 77, moved to Israel from Argentina in 1985, according to a Facebook post from the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum.
She lived on Kibbutz Nir Oz and has nine grandchildren.
Ms. Roitman was an educator who taught first and second grade students for twenty years, her daughter Natalie Madmaon said in a video posted by Israeli public broadcaster Kan.
Her family lost contact with her on October 7, Ms. Madmaon said in the video.
According to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, she worked in education on the kibbutz for many years.
Johnatan Reiss contributed reporting.