Hamas militants have released the bodies of three more hostages from the Gaza Strip more than 16 months after they were taken captive
JERUSALEM (AP) — The bodies of some of the oldest and youngest hostages taken to Gaza at the start of the Israel-Hamas war were released Thursday, bringing the total closer to the 33 supposed to be freed under the ceasefire that started last month.
The plight of Ariel and Kfir Bibas, who were 4 years old and 9 months old, captivated Israelis since they were taken during Hamas’ deadly attack on Oct. 7, 2023. Israel confirmed the identities of the boys' remains and those of Oded Lifshitz, who was 83 when he was abducted, but said another body presumed to be that of the boys' mother did not match her or any other hostage.
Sponsored
In the first phase of the ceasefire deal, a total of 33 hostages in Gaza — eight of whom are dead — were supposed to be freed in exchange for almost 2,000 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. Five Thai citizens who were working in Israel on the day of the attack were freed last month as part of a separate deal.
Hamas-led militants took 251 hostages during their Oct. 7, 2023, attack that launched the war in Gaza. More than 60 hostages remain in Gaza, although about half are believed to be dead. The others were released, rescued, or their bodies recovered.
Israel’s military campaign has killed over 48,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many were fighters but says more than half were women or children.
Here’s a look at the hostages returned so far:
Ariel and Kfir Bibas
The bodies of Ariel and Kfir Bibas were returned Thursday. Hamas had claimed a fourth body given to Israel on Thursday was that of the boys' mother, Shiri Bibas, but Israel determined through forensic investigation that the remains were of an unknown person and did not match any hostage. Hamas said the three were killed in an Israeli airstrike. Shiri's husband, Yarden, was also abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz on Oct. 7, 2023, and was released alive earlier this month.
A video of the family's abduction showed a terrified Shiri Bibas swaddling her two redheaded sons in a blanket and being carried away by militants. The footage ricocheted around the world in the hours after the attack.
Ariel was 4 years old at the time and Kfir was 9 months old, making him the youngest captive taken by Hamas. Ariel Bibas loved Batman and family photos showed the four Bibases dressed as the character. Kfir, the infant with red hair and a toothless smile, became a symbol across Israel for the feelings of helplessness and anger over the hostages’ captivity.
Oded Lifshitz, 84
The body of Oded Lifshitz, one of the oldest hostages held by the militants, was returned Thursday, his family confirmed. He was taken captive from his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, along with his wife, Yocheved Lifshitz, who was freed during a weeklong ceasefire in November 2023.
His family said in a statement they had “hoped and prayed so much for a different outcome.”
“Now we can mourn the husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather who has been missing from us since October 7,” they said. "Our family’s healing process will begin now and will not end until the last hostage is returned.”
Oded and Yocheved Lifshitz are among the founders of Nir Oz. Oded, a journalist, campaigned for the recognition of Palestinian rights and peace between Arabs and Jews. In retirement, he drove to the Erez border crossing on the northern edge of the Gaza Strip once a week to ferry Palestinians to medical appointments in Israel as part of a group called On the Way to Recovery.
Oded took pride in his work helping the traditionally nomadic Bedouin people of the Negev Desert, his daughter told The Associated Press, describing a case that went to Israel’s High Court and resulted in the return of some of their land.
Sagui Dekel Chen, 36
An Israeli-American, Chen was working outside on his pet project, bus conversions, when militants stormed his kibbutz. He instructed his wife, Avital, to hide in the safe room with their two daughters. Chen, one of the first people to raise alarm of the infiltration on the kibbutz, was taken captive.
Avital was seven months pregnant at the time of the attack; she gave birth to a third daughter, Shachar Mazal, in December 2023.
Chen is an avid tennis player who co-founded an arts center for young people in southern Israel, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, an advocacy group representing the families of hostages,
Iair Horn, 46
Horn is an Israel-Argentinian who was taken captive along with his brother, Eitan Horn, who was staying with him at the time. Eitan Horn remains in captivity and his name is not on the list of hostages to be released during the ceasefire’s first phase.
Iair Horn managed the kibbutz pub and is a fan of the local soccer team in Beer Sheba, according to the hostages forum. Friends gathered at the kibbutz pub on Nir Oz to watch Horn’s release from captivity and to toast his return, according to Israeli media.
Alexander (Sasha) Troufanov, 29
Sasha Trufanov, an Israeli-Russian, was taken hostage along with three members of his family: grandmother Irena Tati, mother Yelena (Lena) and girlfriend Sapir Cohen. His father, Vitaly Trufanov, was killed on Oct. 7, 2023. The rest of his family was freed during a weeklong ceasefire in November 2023.
Sasha Troufanov works as an engineer for Amazon, according to the hostages forum. His family immigrated to Israel from the Soviet Union 25 years ago.
He was believed to be held by Palestinian Islamic Jihad, another militant group in Gaza, which has released multiple videos of him in captivity, including one just hours before his release.
Eli Sharabi, 52
Eli Sharabi was taken captive by the militants from Kibbutz Beeri, a communal farm that was one of the hardest hit in the Hamas attack. His British-born wife, Lianne, and their teenage daughters, Noiya and Yahel, were killed by militants while hiding in their safe room. His brother, Yossi Sharabi, who lived next door, was killed in captivity. Hamas militants are holding his body, according to the Hostages Forum.
Eli Sharabi’s home bore marks from the attack months later. AP journalists saw bullet holes in the walls and the shattered oven and TV screens. Nearby homes were torched by militants and their roofs blasted off during fighting on Oct. 7.
Ohad Ben Ami, 56
Ohad Ben Ami, a father to three, was taken captive with his wife, Raz, from Kibbutz Beeri, where he was an accountant. Raz Ben Ami was released during the weeklong ceasefire in November 2023.
The hostages forum described Ohad Ben Ami as a “passionate nature enthusiast” and the “cornerstone of his family.”
Or Levy, 34
Or Levy was pulled out by the militants from a bomb shelter near the Nova music festival in southern Israel. His wife, Einav Levy, was killed during the attack. Their son Almog, now 3, has been in the care of relatives since the assault.
Levy was taken captive alongside American-Israeli Hersh Goldberg-Polin as well as two other hostages — Eliya Cohen and Alon Ohel. Goldberg-Polin, whose parents staged a high-profile campaign for his release, was killed in Hamas captivity.
Or Levy is from the city of Rishon Lezion, where he worked as a computer programmer for a startup.
Yarden Bibas, 35
The release of Yarden Bibas dimmed hopes that his wife and children were still alive in Gaza.
Hamas has claimed that the three were killed in an Israeli airstrike. Israel has not confirmed that, but a military spokesperson said last month that the government was “extremely concerned” about their welfare.
Yarden Bibas was taken from Kibbutz Nir Oz on Oct. 7. Photos from the abduction show him wounded, bleeding from the head.
Keith Siegel, 65
Keith Siegel, from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, was abducted with his wife, Aviva Siegel, from Kibbutz Kfar Aza, a communal farming village heavily damaged by the attack. She was freed during the November 2023 ceasefire deal, and has campaigned across the world for the release of her husband and other hostages.
Aviva Siegel said that she was held hostage with her husband during her 51 days in captivity. She said she took comfort from having her husband by her side as they were moved from tunnel to tunnel, the two given almost no food or water. Her parting words to him were, “Be strong for me.”
Ofer Kalderon, 54
Ofer Kalderon, a French-Israeli hostage, was taken captive from Kibbutz Nir Oz. His teenage children, Sahar and Erez, were also abducted, but they were freed during the weeklong ceasefire in 2023.
Arbel Yehoud, 29
Arbel Yehoud was taken hostage with her boyfriend, Ariel Cunio, from Kibbutz Nir Oz. A third-generation resident of the kibbutz, she loves science and space, and her friends held a public star gazing to mark her birthday in captivity.
Her brother, Dolev Yehoud, was killed on Oct. 7.
Agam Berger, 20
In videos of Agam Berger’s abduction, her face is covered in blood, though it’ unclear if it is from her own wound or those of other soldiers.
Berger is a violin player from a suburb of Tel Aviv who enlisted in the army just two months before the attack.
Gadi Moses, 80
Gadi Moses was one of the oldest hostages who remained in captivity in Gaza.
He was taken from his home on Kibbutz Nir Oz, one of the communities hardest-hit in the Hamas-led attack. The hostages forum described Moses as an expert agronomist who lectured on agriculture and helped maintain the kibbutz’s community vegetable garden.
Moses’ partner, Efrat, was killed during the attack.
Watchara Sriaoun, 33
In the Oct. 7 attack, militants overran the compound where agricultural workers lived on Kibbutz Nir Oz. Out of the 16 Thai workers living there, 11 were killed and five, including Watchara Sriaoun, were abducted.
They were among at least 31 Thai workers taken in the assault. In the November 2023 ceasefire, 23 were released in a deal negotiated between Thailand and Hamas, with assistance from Qatar and Iran.
Sathian Suwannakham, 35
Sathian Suwannakham was also taken from Nir Oz. The kibbutz has continued to advocate for the release of the Thai workers by posting regularly about them on social media, in addition to the Israeli hostages.
Surasak Rumnao, 32
Surasak Rumnao was abducted from the town of Yesha, located near the southern Gaza Strip.
His mother, Khammee Lamnao, said the Thai Embassy in Israel called her to let her know her son would be released.
Pongsak Thaenna, 36
Pongsak Thaenna was also taken from the town of Yesha. Thais make up the largest group of foreigners held in Gaza.
Bannawat Saethao, 27
Bannawat Saethao was also abducted from the town of Yesha.
Liri Albag, 19
Liri Albag, who was among those abducted from the Nahal Oz military base, was featured in a video Hamas released in early January, filmed under duress. Her family said the video was “difficult to watch” because of Albag’s clear emotional distress. They were particularly active in the protest movement pushing for a deal with Hamas to bring the hostages home.
“Liri, if you’re hearing us, tell the others that all the families are moving heaven and earth and want their children home, and we will fight until all hostages are returned,” her father said in a statement after the video was released.
Karina Ariev, 20
Karina Ariev was also taken from Nahal Oz.
Just before she was abducted, she she sent a message to her family, saying: “If I don’t live, take care of mom and dad all their lives. Don’t give up, live,” according to Israeli media. Her family said she loves to cook, sing, dance and write poetry.
Daniella Gilboa, 20
Also taken from Nahal Oz, Daniella Gilboa was originally named Danielle. Her parents changed it after she was taken captive, in line with a Jewish tradition that is believed to bring God’s protection.
Gilboa, from Petah Tikva, a suburb of Tel Aviv, played piano and studied music in high school. She dreams of being a singer, according to Israeli media.
Naama Levy, 20
The footage from Naama Levy’s abduction, in which she is wearing gray sweatpants covered in blood, was shown around the world.
Levy, among those taken from Nahal Oz, is a triathlete. When she was younger, she participated in the “Hands of Peace” delegation, which brings together Americans, Israelis and Palestinians to work on coexistence.
Romi Gonen, 24
Romi Gonen was taken from the Nova music festival in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. She spoke to her family for nearly five hours as militants marauded through the festival grounds. She told them that roads clogged with abandoned cars made escape impossible and that she would seek shelter in some bushes.
Her father, Eitan Goren, said she survived in part by learning Arabic, as it was the only way to communicate with her captors. “I just enjoy being with her even in silence, touching, hugging, watching her,” he said, a week after her release. “I missed it so much.”
Emily Damari, 28
Emily Damari is a British-Israeli citizen abducted from her apartment on Kibbutz Kfar Aza. She lived in a small apartment in a neighborhood for young adults, the closest part of the kibbutz to Gaza. Militants broke through the border fence of the kibbutz and ransacked the neighborhood.
The day after her release, Emily’s mother, Mandy, said her daughter was “in high spirits and on the road to recovery.”
Doron Steinbrecher, 31
Doron Steinbrecher is a veterinary nurse who loves animals, and a neighbor to Damari in Kibbutz Kfar Aza. Steinbrecher holds both Israeli and Romanian citizenship.
Steinbrecher was featured in a video released by Hamas in January 2024, along with two female Israeli soldiers. Her brother said the video gave them hope that she was alive but sparked concern because she looked tired, weak and gaunt.
Associated Press writer Haruka Nega in Bangkok, Thailand, contributed to this report.
Sponsored
