Hamas released a group of 10 Israeli hostages, four Thai nationals and two Israeli-Russian dual citizens on Wednesday. This is the sixth such hostage release since the ceasefire began on Friday.
The group also included some relatives of people who had already been released.
Here’s what we know about the Israeli hostages released on Wednesday.
Ra’aya Rotem, 54
Ra’aya RotemCredit…Forum on Hostages and Missing Families, via Portal
Ra’aya Rotem, 54, her daughter Hila, 12, and her daughter’s friend Emily Hand, 9, hid in her family’s safe room on Kibbutz Be’eri on the morning of October 7 before they were kidnapped. According to The Times of Israel, Ra’aya texted her brother around midday and told him that she and her daughter were being kidnapped.
On Saturday, Hila was released from Hamas captivity without her mother, in what Israeli officials said was an apparent violation of the agreement between Israel and Hamas that children be released with mothers.
According to a Times of Israel report, Hila told her relatives that she and her mother had been together for most of their time in captivity and that they were only separated two days before Hila’s release.
Itay Regev, 18
Itay RegevCredit…Hostages and Missing Families Forum, via Associated Press
Itay and his 21-year-old sister Maya were at the Tribe of Nova music festival in Re’im on October 7 when Hamas terrorists infiltrated Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking more than 200 hostage. The siblings tried to escape together and were captured and held captive in Gaza.
Maya, who suffered a gunshot wound to the leg, was released on Saturday without her brother.
Raz Ben Ami, 56
Raz Ben-AmiCredit…hostages and missing families, via Portal
Raz Ben-Ami was kidnapped by Hamas from Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7.
When she was taken hostage, Ms. Ben-Ami was being treated for neurosarcoidosis, a serious and rare disease that affects the brain, spinal cord or peripheral nerves and has resulted in lesions in her brain and spine.
Her medications suppress the immune system and make her vulnerable to infections, and her doctors said they feared she would not survive long in captivity.
Ms Ben-Ami has suffered from the disease for 13 years. Family members said that although the condition was painful, she did not complain and maintained a positive attitude. She is an amateur artist and loves beadwork, macramé work and jewelry making. She recently began volunteering with older adults at the kibbutz making crafts and crafts.
Her husband Ohad, who was kidnapped with her, remains hostage in Gaza.
Gali Tarshansky, 13
Gali TarshanskyCredit…Hostage and Missing Families Forum, via Associated Press
Gali Tarshansky, 13, was abducted alone on October 7 from her home in Be’eri, a kibbutz near the Gaza border. Her 16-year-old brother Lior, who was hiding with her, was murdered, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.
Ms. Tarshansky is a volleyball player on the Hapoel Ashkelon team and an animal lover, her family said. She also loves dancing, music and Marvel movies.
Her mother, Reuma, expressed concerns about her daughter’s safety at an event in Tel Aviv, Portal reported, where other relatives of women and young girls held hostage called on women’s rights groups to push for their relatives’ release.
Her grandmother, Kamelia Hoter Ishay, said Tuesday she was worried the deal could fall through.
“The only thing I’m waiting for is the call from my daughter Reuma who will say: ‘Gali is coming back,'” she said on Tuesday, Portal reported. “And then I know that it’s really over and I can breathe a sigh of relief.”
Yarden Roman Gat, 36
Yarden Roman GatCredit … Hostages and Missing Families Forum, via Associated Press
Yarden Roman Gat, a physical therapist who lived on Kibbutz Be’eri, was forced into a car seized by Hamas terrorists along with her husband Alon and three-year-old daughter Gefen on October 7, according to a report in The Times of Israel.
As the car approached the Gaza border, the family spotted an Israeli tank and took the opportunity to jump out of the car. As they started running, Mrs. Gat handed her daughter to her husband. The gunmen chased them and fired in their direction.
Ms. Gat was eventually captured and taken hostage, but her husband and daughter managed to escape the terrorists by hiding under bushes for 12 hours, according to a Times of Israel report.
Liat Binin Atzili, 49
Liat Binin AtziliCredit…Hostages and Missing Families Forum, via Portal
Liat Binin Atzili and her husband Aviv Atzili were abducted from their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7th.
Liat, a dual citizen of the United States and Israel, is a mother of three adult children and an educator. She also works as a tour guide for youth groups at Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial center in Jerusalem. She has traveled extensively in India and enjoys nature and wildlife. Her husband remains in captivity.
Moran Stele Yanai, 40
Moran Stela YanaiCredit…Hostages and Missing Families Forum, via Portal
Moran Stela Yanai, a self-employed artist and jewelry designer from Be’er Sheva, had gone to the Nova music festival in Re’im to sell her handmade jewelry, according to the Forum for Hostages and Missing Families.
Ms Yanai contacted her family as she tried to escape by car with a friend after the attack began. Friends who survived told Ms. Yanai’s relatives that after the phone call the group encountered another terrorist gang. Her friends fled in different directions and lost contact with Ms. Yanai.
Liam Or, 18
Liam OrCredit … Hostages and Missing Families Forum, via Associated Press
Liam Or, a kindergarten teacher at Kibbutz Be’eri, was taken hostage in his uncle’s house. He is a chess master and an ardent supporter of the Hapoel Tel Aviv football team.
His uncle Dror Or and his cousins Noam, 17, and Alma, 13, were taken hostage at the same time. Noam and Alma were released on Saturday. The Or family believes Dror is being held in Gaza.
Ofir Engel, 17
Ofir EngelCredit … Hostages and Missing Families Forum, via Associated Press
Ofir Engel, a high school student from Jerusalem, was visiting his girlfriend Yuval Sharabi, 17, at Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7 when he was kidnapped by Hamas militants.
He was taken hostage along with his girlfriend’s father, Yossi Sharabi.
Amit Shani, 16
Amit ShaniCredit…Hostages and Missing Families Forum, via Portal
When Hamas terrorists entered the safe room of Amit Shani’s home on Kibbutz Be’eri shortly after noon on Oct. 7, the 16-year-old tried to resist, his mother, Tal Shani, said in an interview last month.
“I said, ‘Don’t do it! Not! We only have our hands and they have weapons! They’re going to shoot you!'” Ms. Shani recalled. The gunmen ordered Ms. Shani, Amit and his two younger sisters to march down a street. Amit and two Israeli men from another house were ordered into a car, Ms. Shani said.
“I begged and cried and begged for him to leave him alone and take me with him,” Ms. Shani said. One of the kidnappers, she said, pointed his gun at her. She and her two younger daughters stayed behind and were rescued by Israeli soldiers later that night. The army later confirmed that Amit had been kidnapped.
“I don’t know how we survived,” she said. “It’s like a nightmare movie.”
Irena Tati, 73, and Yelena Trupanob, 50
Irena Tati, left, and Yelena Trupanob. Source: Hostages and Missing Families Forum Headquarters, via Associated Press
Irena Tati, a doctor, and her daughter Yelena Trupanob immigrated to Israel from the former Soviet Union and have dual Israeli-Russian citizenship, according to the Forum for Hostages and Missing Families.
They were abducted from their home on Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7th. Yelena’s husband, Vitaly Trupanob, was murdered in the attack. Yelena’s son Sasha, 28, and his girlfriend Sapir Cohen, 29, were also taken hostage and are still being held in Gaza.
Nadav Gavrielov and Talya Minsberg contributed reporting.