On October 7th, Israel and Hamas reached the first agreement since the beginning of the conflict
The terrorist group Hamas said on Wednesday (22) that it would release at least 50 hostages as part of an agreement with Israel.
Based on interviews with family members and Israeli press reports, the identities of 210 of the approximately 240 people abducted in Hamas attacks on Israeli soil on October 7 were confirmed.
The hostages to be released include women and children, both Israeli and foreign. Their release is planned in stages, in return for a fourday ceasefire and the release of Palestinian prisoners.
According to the US government, three Americans, including threeyearold Abigail Mor Idan, will be among the first to be released starting Thursday (23). The release of “one or two” French hostages is also planned, said French MP Meyer Habib.
Hamas has already freed four hostages and one soldier was rescued by Israeli forces, who found two people dead in Gaza: 19yearold soldier Noa Marciano and Yehudit Weiss, a 65yearold former nurse.
- At least 35 children: There are at least 35 children among the hostages. Eighteen of them were 10 years old or younger at the time of the Hamas attack.
One of the youngest is Kfir Bibas, who was nine months old when he was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz near the Gaza border along with his fouryearold brother Ariel and their parents Yarden and Shiri. In a video from the day of the attack, the mother was seen holding her children and surrounded by armed men.
Some of the children had their birthdays in captivity, like Emily Hand, an IrishIsraeli woman who lived to be 9 years old. The girl was sleeping at a friend’s house on the Beeri kibbutz when she was abducted, her father said.
Yoni Asher, whose wife Doron, daughters Raz, four, and Aviv, two, and motherinlaw Efrat were kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz, quit his job as a real estate agent to devote all his time to trying to bring his family back home.
- Older people and entire families: At least 68 of those abducted are women.
One of them is apparently Yaffa Adar, who was 85 years old when she was filmed being picked up in a golf cart from Kibbutz Nir Oz. At least eight of the hostages are over 80 years old.
In this agricultural community of nearly 400 residents, 71 people were kidnapped, including nine people from the same family.
Sharon Aloni Cunio, 34, her husband David, 33, and their twin daughters Emma and Yuly, three, were also kidnapped on October 7.
Also on the list are Ariel, David’s brother, Arbel Yahod, Ariel’s partner, and his brother Dolev; as well as Danielle, Sharon’s sister; and Amelia, Danielle’s fiveyearold daughter.
On October 30, Hamas released a video showing Danielle along with two other women, Yelena Trupanov and Rimon Kirsht.
- Different nationalities: According to the Israeli Foreign Ministry, in addition to Israel, citizens of 26 countries are among the hostages. Many have dual nationality.
According to their governments, 26 Thais were kidnapped, as well as 21 Argentinians, 18 Germans, ten Americans, seven French and seven Russians.
Hamas released two videos as evidence of the hostages’ lives, one of Danielle Aloni and two other women and another in which FrenchIsraeli Mia Shem, 21, begs for help.
Islamic Jihad, another Palestinian armed movement in Gaza, released a video on November 9 that claimed to show two more hostages: Hannah Katzir, 70, and Yagil Yaakov, 13.
According to the Israeli press, between 15 and 30 people remain missing, most of them foreigners. They are believed to have been kidnapped or murdered on October 7, but have not yet been identified.