Fifteen months after a conflict that has left more than 46 thousand dead, Israel and Hamas reached last Wednesday an in-principle ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Stripwhich would come into force this Sunday. The pact will consist of three phases, each lasting 42 days, although only the first is clear: there will be a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip and the release of hostages held by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
Specifically, Israel would release 50 Palestinian prisoners for every female Israeli soldier released by Hamas, according to Associated Pressand 30 for the other hostages.
The release of the hostages
In the first phase, 33 hostages will be gradually released, including women, children, the sick and men over 50 years of age, according to the draft. In addition, on the 16th of the agreement, negotiations will begin for the implementation of the second phase, which will include the release of another 65 Israeli hostages.
For the third phase, it is expected that the return of all remaining corpses and the beginning of the reconstruction of Gaza supervised by Egypt, Qatar and the United Nations, according to the newspaper The Times.
From 2023, this newspaper together with the Sunday Times They maintain a database with the whereabouts of the 255 identified people taken hostage by Hamas. “To date, according to publicly available information, 95 people remain in Gaza, 62 of whom are presumed aliveand 33 bodies are being held,” they say.
In fact, before taking the 255 hostages on October 7, 2023, Hamas already had two Israeli hostages held, according to the British media: “Avera Mengistu, taken in 2014, and Hisham al-Sayed, taken in 2015.” They are not included in this database, but may be part of the release deal agreed upon between Hamas and Israel.
The list of hostages who could be released
For its part, A-Sharq al-Awsata Saudi-owned newspaper based in London, published an image of what it claimed was a list of names to be published in the first stage of a deal, divided into three sections and ranging in age from 1-year-old Kfir Bibas , to Shlomo Mansur, 86, as he explains The Times of Israel.
It also included the names of the two civilians (mentioned above) detained in the Strip since they entered of their own free will in 2014 and 2015: Avera Mangestu and Hisham al-Sayed.
12 women and children:
- Kfir Bibas (1): He was captured on October 7 along with his mother, Shiri Bibas, 32, and brother Ariel, 4.
- Ariel Bibas, (5): brother of Kfir Bibas.
- Liri Albag, (19): soldier Liri Albag captured at the Nahal Oz military post on October 7. In the video, proof of life, published by Hamas, he claimed to have been in captivity for 450 days and rebuked the Israeli Army for ignoring his condition.
- Karina Ariev (20): She was captured on October 7 and was able to call her parents just before to tell them what was happening.
- Danielle Gilboa (20): She is an Israeli soldier who served 20 years in captivity.
- Naama Levy (20): great-granddaughter of a Holocaust survivor, she is a triathlete who participated in the Hands of Peace project in the United States, working for peace between Israel and Palestine.
- Agam Berger (21): is a talented violinist who was taken prisoner on October 7.
- Romi Gonen (23): She is a regular rave attendee and former Scout advisor.
- Emily Damari (27): is a British-Israeli citizen who was torn from her home and kidnapped in Gaza. Emily’s last message that day was that there were terrorists in her neighborhood.
- Arbel Yehud (29): She was taken hostage along with her boyfriend, Ariel Cunio, from their home at Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7.
- Doron Steinbrecher (31): This veterinary nurse was in her apartment at the youth and singles housing kibbutz when she was captured.
- Shiri Silberman Bibas (33): She was kidnapped along with her two young children. Her husband too, separately. His parents died in the attack.
11 older men:
- Tsahi Idan (50): He has Danish citizenship and his two children live there.
- Ohad Yahalomi (50): his wife and two daughters escaped from the terrorists on October 7; his 12-year-old son was released on November 27.
- Eli Sharabi (52): He is still missing, but his wife and daughters were murdered and his brother Yossi was kidnapped and declared dead on January 16, 2024.
- Ofer Calderon (54): his childrenaged 16 and 12, were released on November 27.
- Youssef Hamis Ziyadne (54): On January 8, 2025, the body of hostage Youssef Ziyadne was found in a tunnel in the Gaza Strip, ‘The Times of Israel’ learned.
- Ohad Ben-Ami (58): Israeli-German citizen who was taken hostage along with his wife, who was released on November 29.
- Keith Siegel (65): Originally from North Carolina, he was taken captive with his wife, Aviva Siegel, 62, who was released.
- Itzik Elgarat (70): He was taken hostage in his own home.
- Gadi Moshe Moses (80): This potato farmer was taken prisoner on October 7 while trying to negotiate with Hamas.
- Oded Lifshitz (84) Together with his wife, he was the founder of Kibbutz Nir Oz, and both were peace activists who regularly transported patients from Gaza to receive medical treatment in hospitals throughout Israel.
- Shlomo Mansour (86): He was born in Iraq and for many years he was in charge of the kibbutz chicken coop. His wife managed to escape.
11 men under 50 years old:
- Omer Shem-Tov (22): From the desert party, he sent a live location to his parents.
- Omer Wenkert (23): He is a restaurant manager, who aspires to be a food critic, who was at the Supernova festival on October 7.
- Eliya Cohen (27): A native of Jerusalem, he was with his girlfriend, Ziv, at the Supernova desert party.
- Sasha Trufanov (28): He is an engineer and works at Annapurna Labs, an Israeli microelectronics company acquired by Amazon.
- Yarden Bibas (35): father of the little Bibas.
- Hisham al-Sayed (36): Hamas sent a video in which he can be seen connected to an oxygen mask.
- Sagui Dekel-Chen (36): On October 7, he checked to make sure his wife, Avital, and children were safe and then headed out again with the rest of the kibbutz security team.
- Or Levy (34): he and Eynav Levy, they usually traveled in a tent and were music lovers, that’s why they were in Supernova on October 7. His 2-year-old son is with his family.
- Avera Mengistu (38): He was taken prisoner by Hamas 10 years ago, when he crossed into Gaza.
- Tal Shoham, (39): captured on October 7. his wife and his 8-year-old and 3-year-old children were released on November 25, along with his family.
- Yair Horn (46): He works in construction and was very involved in Nir Oz, organizing Christmas parties and activities. In addition, he was responsible for the local kibbutz pub.
Families, between joy and disappointment
After the leak of the list of names, the Hostage Families Forum pressed for approximately 100 hostages to be released at once, and claimed to be “shocked and upset” that the agreement did not contemplate a full refund.
In fact, according to The Times of Israel, relatives of those who were not on the list compared this selection to that which took place in the death camps during the Holocaust. “We have a grandfather who knew what selection was and what it means to choose between blood and blood. The selection today is made by the government of Israel, not the Nazis.” explained Anat Angrest, mother of hostage Matan Angrest, to the news portal Ynet.
For its part, Guardian collects a testimony from Emilio Lavi, brother-in-law of Omri Miran, one of the Hamas hostages who says that “It is important to remember that, while this progress is encouraging, it should have occurred a long time ago and, until the hostages return safely to their homes, we cannot rest assured” and adds that “The release of some hostages brings hope, but also underlines the painful reality that many will remain behind, including, most likely, my brother-in-law. families who will soon be reunited with their loved ones, But the work doesn’t end here.”
#Baby #Kfir #Bibas #triathlete #Naama #Levy #elderly #farmer.. #hostages #freed #Hamas
