Paris:
When Hamas militants staged the worst-ever attack on Israel on October 7 last year, they took 251 hostages into the Gaza Strip. Some were already dead. On the first anniversary, Israel believes 63 people, including two children, are still alive, while 34 are confirmed dead but remain in Gaza.
For Hamas, which rules Gaza, the hostages are key bargaining chips in negotiations with Israel aiming to secure a truce and the release of Palestinian prisoners.
Here is what we know about the hostages still held in Gaza.
– 51 men, 10 women, two children –
Of the 251 hostages seized by militants on October 7, 2023, 117 have been freed, most of them women, children and foreign workers.
Most were released during a week-long truce in November in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
Nearly a year later, Israel believes 63 hostages still held in Gaza are alive.
The army and the Hostages and Missing Families Forum have confirmed 71 others are dead, 34 of whose bodies are still in Gaza. The death of Idan Shtivi was announced on Monday by the Forum.
The military has repatriated the bodies of 37 hostages who either died in Gaza or were killed on October 7 and taken to the territory.
Of the 63 thought to be alive, 56 are Israelis, though some of them have more than one nationality. Another six are Thais and one is Nepalese.
Fifty-one are men and 10 are women. Eleven are military personnel.
Two are children.
The youngest hostage, Kfir Bibas, was just eight-and-a-half months old when he was kidnapped. His brother Ariel was four years old when he was taken to Gaza.
Hamas has said the two children are dead, but Israel has not confirmed this.
– No proof of life –
Since the last truce ended on December 1, seven other hostages have been freed alive, all during Israeli military operations.
With no proof of life, it remains uncertain whether the 63 are still alive.
Hamas’s armed wing said on August 12 that its fighters had shot and killed an Israeli hostage and wounded two others.
Hamas has announced on several occasions deaths of hostages that Israel has yet to confirm, leaving families in agonising limbo.
– Bodies taken to Gaza –
On October 7, 2023, Hamas militants took several dead back into Gaza with them, including the bodies of 10 Israeli soldiers.
At least 28 other hostages have died in the territory since the start of the war.
Three were killed in error by the Israeli army on December 15, 2023. They were Yotam Haim, 28, Samer El-Talalqa and Alon Shamriz, 26.
The Israeli army accuses Hamas of executing six others in August: Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Alexander Lobonov, Almog Sarusi and Ori Danino.
They were found dead by soldiers in a tunnel in Rafah, in southern Gaza.
– Festival, kibbutz survivors –
Most of the hostages were taken during the attacks on the Nir Oz kibbutz and the Nova music festival.
At Nir Oz kibbutz, of the at least 76 hostages taken on October 7, 40 were released alive. Another 20 are still in Gaza and believed to be alive. The remaining 16 are dead.
Sixteen people abducted from the festival are thought to be alive and still held in Gaza.
Only nine of at least 43 hostages taken from Nova have been released, while 18 others have died.
– Whole families –
On October 7, whole families were taken to Gaza. For them, the November 2023 truce brought relief but also the heartache of leaving loved ones behind.
French-Israeli children Eitan, Erez and Sahar were freed but their fathers Ohad Yahalomi and Ofer Kalderon are still held.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Hindkesharistaff and is published from a syndicated feed.)