Israel-Hamas Hostage Exchange: Details of the 48 Captives in Gaza and Their Release Status

Twenty of the 48 hostages who remain in Gaza are believed to be alive.

Jerusalem:

Palestinian militant group Hamas was preparing on Monday to release dozens of hostages held in Gaza for the past two years, as part of an exchange for approximately 2,000 Palestinian detainees and prisoners, under the terms of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement.

Twenty of the 48 hostages still in Gaza are believed to be alive. Here are details about these hostages:

NOVA HOSTAGES

The majority of living hostages scheduled for release were abducted from the Nova Music festival near Kibbutz Reim in southern Israel.

Among them is Evyatar David, 24, who appeared in a Hamas video in August looking extremely emaciated and digging what he described as his own grave. Other hostages include pianist Alon Ohel, 24, and Avinatan Or, 32. A widely circulated video showed Or's abduction alongside his girlfriend Noa Argamani, who was desperately pleading for her life and reaching toward him as they were forcibly marched away. Argamani was rescued in June.

HOSTAGES TAKEN FROM KIBBUTZIM

Seven hostages were captured from their homes in kibbutzim, small communities located near the Gaza border. These include 28-year-old twins Gali and Ziv Berman, and brothers Ariel Cunio, 28, and David Cunio, 35. David was abducted with his wife Sharon and their toddler daughters. Sharon and the children were released during a brief truce in November 2023.

ISRAELI SOLDIERS

Two hostages are Israeli conscript soldiers captured by Hamas militants during the October 7 attacks: Matan Angrest, 22, and Nimrod Cohen, 20.

FOREIGNERS

Four foreigners are among the 48 hostages. Three have been declared dead in absentia: a Tanzanian student and two Thai workers. The status of Nepalese student Bipin Joshi remains unknown.

DEAD

Twenty-six hostages have been officially declared dead by Israeli authorities based on forensic evidence and intelligence. The fate of two hostages, including Joshi, remains undetermined.

Hamas has indicated that recovering the bodies of some deceased hostages may take time, as not all burial locations are known. An international task force has been assembled to help locate all remains.

One of the deceased is an Israeli soldier killed during the 2014 Israel-Hamas conflict, while the rest were among the 251 hostages taken during Hamas' deadly attack on October 7, 2023, which triggered the current war.

Some hostages were already deceased when captured, others were killed by their captors, and some died in Israeli strikes on Gaza.