At least 35 minors, entire families captured: what we know about the hostages taken to the Gaza Strip during the attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas on October 7 on Israeli soil, according to a database compiled by the ‘AFP.
An agreement was reached overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday between Israel and Hamas for a “humanitarian pause” in the Gaza Strip, with an exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners. The agreement provides for the release over four days of 50 civilian women and children hostages.
The White House indicated that three American nationals should be released, alongside “one or two French people” according to MP Meyer Habib, whose constituency for French people abroad covers Israel.
Newborn and infant
Of the approximately 240 hostages identified by the Israeli authorities who have not revealed their identities, AFP managed to identify 210 as of November 22, mainly from its network of journalists, in regular contact with hostage families. , and the Israeli press.
As evidence of life is rare, the data is fluid. The line between hostages and missing people is fine and it happens that victims, initially considered hostages, are ultimately identified as having died in the October 7 attack.
Furthermore, it is not certain that all the hostages are still alive. Hamas has repeatedly announced that some were killed in Israeli raids, although these claims cannot be independently verified. To date, the Israeli army has found the remains of two hostages.
The following data analyzes the 210 hostages identified by AFP, whether presumed alive, dead in Gaza or released.
Among them are at least 35 minors, one of whom, American Natalie Raanan, was released with her mother on October 20, just in time to celebrate her 18th birthday in freedom. Seventeen hostages are 10 years old or younger.
An infant, Kfir Bibas, aged ten months, was captured in the kibbutz (collectivist agricultural village) of Nir Oz with his brother Ariel (4 years old), and his parents Yarden and Shiri, in their early thirties. The mother and two children, who have Argentinian nationality according to the country’s press, appear in a video published on social networks surrounded by armed attackers.
A newborn would also have come into the world in captivity, according to the wife of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Nine members of the same family
Three Franco-Israeli teenagers are among the hostages: Eitan Yahalomi (12 years old), Erez Kalderon (12 years old) and Sahar Kalderon (16 years old). Three other minors, Tal (9 years old), Gal (11 years old) and Agam (17 years old) Goldstein, would have American nationality, according to the Daily Beast.
At least nine octogenarians are among the captives. The five oldest are 85 years old, including Yaffa Adar, whose video of the kidnapping, aboard what appears to be a golf cart, has been shared numerous times on social networks. One of the octogenarians, Yocheved Lifshitz, was released on October 23.
Among the hostages are at least 105 adult men and 68 women. At least 10 soldiers are among them, one of whom, Noa Marciano, died in captivity.
At least 34 families deplore several hostages, the most affected having nine confirmed hostages: Sharon Aloni Cunio (34 years old), her husband David Cunio (33 years old), their children Emma and Yuly, her sister Danielle Aloni (44 years old), her niece Amelia Aloni (5 years old), the brother of her husband Ariel Cunio, as well as his partner Arbel Yahod and his brother Dolev Yahod, were kidnapped together from the kibbutz of Nir Oz.
Nir Oz, with around 400 inhabitants, is the kibbutz which has recorded the most hostages. At least 71 were kidnapped there, more than a third of those the AFP was able to identify. Hostages were captured in at least ten kibbutzim, the second worst hit being Beeri, with at least 32 hostages confirmed.
Five hostages freed
In addition to the kibbutzim, the Tribe of Nova music festival, in which more than 3,000 people participated, has a heavy toll, with at least 38 hostages confirmed.
According to official data, apart from Israel, nationals of 26 countries are among the hostages, including 26 Thais, 21 Argentinians, 18 Germans, ten Americans, seven French and seven Russians. Many are dual nationals.
Hamas released two videos of hostages constituting proof of life, the first time on October 16 with the Franco-Israeli Mia Shem, the second on October 30 with Danielle Aloni, Yelena Trupanov and Rimon Kirsht.
Islamic Jihad, which fights alongside Hamas against Israel in the Gaza Strip, released a video on November 9 with Hannah Katzir and Yagil Yaakov.
To date, Hamas has released four hostages, while a soldier was freed by the Israeli army during an incursion into Gaza.