What We Know About the Hostages Released During the Israel-Hamas Truce
The temporary ceasefire is set to be extended to six days following a fourth exchange of hostages and prisoners on Monday night.
The temporary truce between Israel and Hamas will reportedly be extended from four to six days following three successful exchanges of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. The extension of the truce, which began Friday after more than 7 weeks of fighting, is contingent upon a fourth successful exchange in as many days on Monday night. Below is what we know about the hostages who have been released thus far.
Avigail Edan, 4
The four-year-old U.S.-Israeli dual citizen was released by Hamas in the third exchange on Sunday — the first American to be released during the multi-day truce. President Biden confirmed Edan’s release on Sunday, explaining how she “has been through a terrible trauma,” as both of her parents, Smadar Edan, 38, and Roy Edan, were killed in front of her when militants attacked their kibbutz, Kfar Azza, on October 7. Per the Washington Post:
On Oct. 7, she watched her mother, Smadar, get shot and killed by Hamas militants who broke into their home. Her father was shielding her but was gunned down moments later. She crawled out from under his body and sought refuge at a neighbor’s house. But militants found her there and took her hostage along with the family of five living next door, her relatives said. On the day of the attack, Abigail’s family was in the home they shared on Kibbutz Kfar Azza, about two miles from the Gazan border. Her father, Roy Edan, a photographer for the Israeli news outlet Ynet, had been taking some of the earliest photographs of Hamas’s attack on Israel, according to his employer.
After militants rushed their home, the two oldest children, ages 6 and 10, locked themselves inside a closet and hid for 14 hours. They survived and were reunited with family soon after the attack.
Hagar Brodutch, 40; and her three children, Ofri, 10; Yuval, 9; and Oriya, 4
The four members of the Brodutch family, who were abducted by Hamas militants from the Kfar Azza kibbutz on October 7, were released by Hamas on Sunday. Per the Times of Israel:
Avihai Brodutch, their husband and father, was defending the kibbutz while his family was hiding in their sealed room. When he returned wounded to find his family, they were gone and he thought they were dead. … “I felt like I won the lottery,” Brodutch told ABC News, upon hearing that his family wasn’t killed, but had been abducted to Gaza. Ofri Brodutch marked her 10th birthday in Gaza, while her father, Avihai, was one of the first people to sit outside the Defense Ministry offices in Tel Aviv, demanding the safe return of all the hostages.
Adrienne “Aviva” Siegel, 64
Siegel and her 62-year-old husband, Keith, were both abducted on October 7 from Kibbutz Kfar Azza, where they had lived for the last four decades. Aviva was released on Sunday. Keith, a dual U.S.-Israeli citizen originally from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, is still being held hostage.
Chen Goldstein Almog, 49, and her children Agam, 17; Gal, 11; and Tal, 9
The four members of the Goldstein Almog family, who were released by Hamas on Sunday, were also abducted from Kfar Azza. The New York Times reports that two other members of the family were murdered by militants on October 7:
Chen Goldstein Almog was kidnapped from Kibbutz Kfar Aza along with three of her children, Agam, Gal and Tal. Her husband, Nadav Goldstein Almog, 48, and their oldest daughter, Yam, 20, were killed in the Oct. 7 terrorist attack. Nadav and Yam, who was a soldier in the Israeli army, were buried on Oct. 23, Chen’s birthday. “They are okay, in good condition and they are smiling,” Inbar Goldstein, the aunt of Agam, Gal and Tal, said in a statement released late Sunday. “We will continue the struggle until the last of the hostages returns to us healthy and whole.”
Dafna Elyakim, 15; Ella Elyakim, 8
The sisters were released by Hamas on Sunday. Three of their family members — their father Noam Elyakim, his partner Dikla Arava, and her son Tomer — were killed when militants attacked their house in Kibbutz Nahal Oz on October 7. Before killing them, the attackers used Arava’s Facebook page to live-stream themselves questioning Noam, with the kids visible in the background. Later that day, an image of Dafna and Ella sitting on a mattress in an unknown location was shared on social media.
The girl’s mother, Maayan Zinsaid, shared her relief in a statement on Sunday:
After a long period of terrible uncertainty, my daughters are finally with me. It was 51 days of oscillating between despair and hope, pain and optimism, and I’m glad to now be here with them. … The girls are returning to a new and complex situation, and we now face a period of recovery that will take time.
Elma Avraham, 84
Avraham, who was taken by militants from her home in Kibbutz Nahal Oz on October 7, was released Sunday and flown to an Israeli hospital in Beersheba in serious condition, Israel’s military said.
Maya Regev, 21
Regev, who was released Saturday, was attending the Tribe of Nova music festival when it was attacked by Hamas militants on October 7 and she was abducted amid the massacre. One video shared by Hamas after the attack showed Regev with bound hands in the back of a pickup truck. Her brother, Itay, was also at the festival and is still believed to be held captive.
Shoshan Haran, 67; her daughter Adi Shoham, 38; Shoham’s children Naveh, 8; and Yahel, 3; and Sharon Avigdori, 52; along with her daughter, Noam Avigdori, 12
The six members of the same extended family were all abducted on October 7 from Kibbutz Be’eri and released by Hamas on Saturday. Shoham’s husband, 38-year-old Tal Shoham, is still be held hostage. Shoshan’s husband, Avshalom, was killed by militants in the attack, as were his sister and her husband, Lilach Kipnis and Evyatar Kipnis, and Mr. Kipnis’s caretaker, Paul Castelvi. Avshalom’s sister, Sharon Avigdori and her daughter, Noam, were taken hostage. Per the New York Times:
The extended family, all residents of Be’eri, had been celebrating the Jewish holiday of Sukkot at Ms. Haran’s home when the village was struck. Several members of the family were considered missing for days and weeks before they were identified as being among the dead or kidnapped.
Noam Or, 17; and Alma Or, 13
The siblings, who were released Saturday, had been kidnapped from their home in Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7. Their mother, Yonat, was killed. Their father, Dror, is still believed to be held captive by Hamas.
Emily Hand, 9
The Irish-Israeli was sleeping over at a friend’s house in Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7. Her family was initially told that she had been murdered by militants, but found out, more than three weeks later, that Emily was in fact likely being held hostage by Hamas. She was released on Saturday.
Hila Rotem Shoshani, 12
She was released on Saturday. Hila and her mother, Raaya — who is believed to still be a hostage — were abducted from Kibbutz Be’eri by Hamas militants on October 7.
Shiri Weiss, 53; and her daughter, Noga, 18
The women, who were taken hostage from Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7, were released by Hamas on Saturday. Shiri’s brother, Gil, was killed defending the kibbutz that day. Her husband, Ilan, who had left his family to join the defense, is still missing.
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