Who are the first 40 Israeli hostages released by Hamas?

Published

2 years ago

November 27, 2023

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Fourteen more Israeli hostages have been released by Hamas after being held for almost seven weeks.

They include four-year-old Abigail, a dual Israeli-American national, whose parents were reportedly killed in the 7 October attacks.

US President Joe Biden said on the day she was released that her father was “gunned down while using his body to shield little Abigail”, who then ran to a neighbour’s house where she was taken hostage alongside another family.

Her handover on Sunday coincides with the release of 39 prisoners by Israel after a deal that has paused fighting between the two sides.

It comes after a further 13 Israelis were released on Friday and Saturday as part of the same deal, with 39 Palestinian prisoners being returned to the West Bank on the same days.

A further 17 Thai nationals and one Filipino hostage have also been released by Hamas.

The names of the Israeli hostages – who were among some 240 people kidnapped during the deadly Hamas attack – released on Sunday are:

Hagar Brodetz, 40, with her children, Ofry, 10, Yuval, eight, and Oriya, who is four

The family was taken hostage together on 7 October.

Chen Goldstein-Almog, with her three children, Agam, who is 17, Gal, 11, and eight-year-old Tal

Ms Goldstein-Almog, 49, is a social worker and was taken by Hamas alongside her children.

Dafna Elyakim, 15, and Ela Elyakim, who is eight years old

Abigail Edan, four

Four-year-old Abigail is a dual Israeli-American national, whose parents were reportedly killed in the 7 October attacks.

“What she endured is unthinkable,” Mr Biden told a news conference.

Ron Krivoi, 25

Mr Krivoi is a Russian-Israeli, whom Hamas said it had freed in appreciation of Moscow’s support during the conflict.

Alma Avraham, 84

Ms Avraham was among those freed on 26 November, the third day of the temporary truce deal between Israel and Hamas.

Aviva Adrienne Siegel, 62

Ms Siegel was freed after more than seven weeks in captivity.

Emily Hand, nine

Irish-Israeli schoolgirl Emily was taken from Be’eri on 7 October.

She was sleeping at her best friend’s house when the attack took place.

Her mother, Liat, died of cancer when Emily was two years old. Her father, Thomas, made multiple pleas for her safe return.

Thomas was initially told that Emily’s body had been found, but was later told that she was alive and among the hostages.

Hila Rotem Shoshani, 13

Hila managed to escape her home in Be’eri, but was found hiding in nearby bushes and kidnapped by Hamas militants.

Her mother, Raaya, was also kidnapped.

Hila had recently returned from a holiday in Korea and Thailand, where she had been visiting for her uncle’s wedding.

Maya Regev, 21

Maya was kidnapped, along with her brother Itay and their friend Omer She-Tov, while attending the Re’im festival.

She had gone to the festival hours after landing from Mexico, where she had been on holiday with her family.

Maya is due to go travelling across South America next month.

Noam Or, 17, and his 13-year-old sister, Alma

Noam was kidnapped from kibbutz Be’eri, along with his sister, Alma.

Their mother, Yonat, was murdered during the same attack.

Their eldest brother, Yahli, survived the attack as he was away in northern Israel on national service.

Shiri Weiss, 53, and her 18-year-old daughter, Noga

Described as “very family-oriented”, Shiri Weiss, an accountant for an agricultural association, was kidnapped from Be’eri, alongside her husband, Ilan, and her daughter, Noga.

Friends say Ms Weiss likes being in charge of planning family trips, while Noga has been described as a sports fan – particularly volleyball.

Noga hid under the bed during the attack, but was forced to flee the home after it was set on fire.

She escaped through a window, but was found hiding in bushes and was kidnapped.

Sharon Avigdori, 52, and her 12-year-old daughter, Noam

A drama therapist who works with people on the autism spectrum, Sharon Avigdori was taken with her daughter Noam while visiting her brother in kibbutz Be’eri.

Noam, a member of the Scouts movement, was about to celebrate her Bat Mitzvah when she was taken.

A further seven members of Ms Avigdori’s family were kidnapped and three were murdered on 7 October.

Shoshan Haran, 67, her daughter, Adi Shoham, and her grandchildren, Nave, eight, and Yahel, three

Sharon Haran is the founder of a non-profit organisation, who previously worked on agricultural projects in Africa.

She was taken along with eight members of her family, while her husband, sister, and brother-in-law, were murdered.

Her daughter, Adi Shoham, from Ma’aleh Tzvia, was kidnapped from Be’eri along with her husband and their two children, Nave and Yahel, and five other members of the family.

They were in Be’eri for a holiday visit.

Ms Shoham works as a clinical psychologist, while Nave is a huge fan of the Argentinian football star Lionel Messi, and his sister, Yahel, is a fan of singing.

The names of the hostages released on Friday are:

Adina Moshe, 72

She was kidnapped from her home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, after Hamas militants killed her husband Sa’id Moshe.

She has four children – Maya, Yael, Sasson, and Amos – and a number of grandchildren.

Her hobbies include cooking, gardening and reading.

Margalit Moses, 77

A cancer survivor, she has diabetes and fibromyalgia, and takes additional medications for blood pressure and thyroid.

She is said to be a sworn nature lover, especially of birds, and loves hiking despite her poor health.

Last summer she went on sailing trip in northern Norway and had plans to visit Mozambique this winter. Margalit’s other hobbies include knitting.

Daniel Aloni, 45, and her six-year-old daughter Emilia

The pair were kidnapped in Nir Oz while visiting Daniel’s sister Sharon Aloni-Cunio – who was also kidnapped along with her three-year-old twins Emma and Yuli, and their father David Cunio.

On 7 October at 11am Daniel sent a “last message” to her family which said there were terrorists in the house and she was afraid they would not survive.

Ruthy Munder, 78, Keren Munder, 54 and nine-year-old Ohad Munder

Ohad was kidnapped along with his mother, Keren, while they were visiting his grandmother Ruthy, who was also seized. He reportedly turned nine while in captivity. His mother is a teacher and children’s volleyball coach.

Ruthy Munder’s hobbies are said to include knitting, painting and sewing. Her husband, Ohad’s grandfather, was also kidnapped and is still being held by Hamas, it is thought.

Doron Katz Asher, 34, and her daughters Aviv, two, and Raz, four

The trio were kidnapped during a visit to relatives, including the girls’ grandmother, in Kibbutz Nir Oz.

Ms Katz Asher works as an accountant.

Hanna Peri, 79

The mother-of-three immigrated to Israel from South Africa in the 1960s. She works in a grocery store.

Ms Peri is said to have diabetes and suffers from severe vision loss in one eye. Her hobbies including gardening, Tai Chi and looking after her pet cat.

Footage, apparently of her, being taken away on a golf buggy went viral following Hamas’s attack.

Yaffa Adar, 85

Ms Adar has three children, eight grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

One of her grandchildren, Tamir Adar, 38, was kidnapped alongside her and is still thought to be held by Hamas.

Hana Katzir, 76

Ms Katzir was the 13th hostage to be released on Friday. Hamas forces reportedly claimed earlier this week that she had died in captivity.

World

New US plan for Gaza starting to emerge despite sanitised tour for Trump peace envoy

Published

7 hours ago

August 3, 2025

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New US plan for Gaza starting to emerge despite sanitised tour for Trump peace envoy

We’ve seen this many times before.

Highly anticipated talks and meetings with America, Israel’s closest ally and the one country with the power to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to change course, then nothing changes.

We need to give Steve Witkoff time to report his assessments back to the White House before we can give a complete verdict on this visit but what we’ve seen and heard so far has offered little hope.

The pressure on Donald Trump to stop the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza is mounting after a small but vocal contingent of his base expressed outrage.

Even one of his biggest supporters in Congress, Marjorie Taylor Green, has referred to it as a genocide.

It was little coincidence Mr Witkoff was dispatched to the region for the first time in three months to speak to people on both sides and “learn the truth” to quote US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, who accompanied him to an aid site in Gaza.

The pair spent five hours in Gaza speaking to people at a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation centre and it’s understood saw nothing of the large crowd of Palestinians gathering a mile away waiting for food.

Their sanitised tour of Gaza did not include a visit to a hospital where medics are receiving casualties by the dozen from deadly incidents at aid sites, and where they’re treating children for malnutrition and hunger.

A critical trauma nurse at Nasser hospital told us a 13-year-old boy was among the people shot while Mr Witkoff was in the enclave.

An American paediatrician at the same hospital who had publicly extended an invitation to meet with Mr Witkoff heard nothing from the US delegation.

Dr Tom Adamkiewicz described people “being shot like rabbits” and “a new level of barbarity that I don’t think the world has seen”.

The US delegation was defensive of the controversial GHF aid distribution that was launched by America and Israel in May, hailing its delivery of a million meals a day.

But if their new system of feeding Gaza is truly working, why are we seeing images of starved children and hearing deaths every day of people in search of food?

The backdrop of this trip is very different to the last time Mr Witkoff was here.

In May, life was a struggle for Palestinians in Gaza, people were dying in Israeli bombings but, for the most part, people weren’t dying due to a lack of food or getting killed trying to reach aid.

Mr Netanyahu’s easing of humanitarian conditions a week ago, allowing foreign aid to drop from the sky, was an indirect admission of failure by the GHF.

Yet, for now, the US is standing by this highly criticised way of delivering aid.

A UN source tells me more aid is getting through than it was a week ago – around 30 lorries are due to enter today compared to around five that were getting in each day before.

Still nowhere near enough and it’s a complex process of clearances and coordination with the IDF through areas of conflict.

Lorries are regularly refused entry without explanation.

Then there was Mr Witkoff’s meeting with hostage families a day later where we began to get a sense of America’s new plan for Gaza.

The US issued no public statement but family members shared conversations they’d had with Mr Trump’s envoy: bring all the hostages home in one deal, disarm Hamas and end the war. Easier to propose than to put into practice.

Within hours of those comments being reported in the Israeli media, Hamas released a video of hostage Evyatar David looking emaciated in an underground tunnel in Gaza.

Now 24 years old, he was kidnapped from the Nova festival on 7 October and is one of 20 hostages understood to be still alive. The release of the video was timed for maximum impact.

Hamas also poured water on any hopes of a deal in a statement, refusing to disarm unless an independent Palestinian state is established.

Hamas has perhaps become more emboldened in this demand after key Israeli allies, including the UK, announced plans for formal recognition in the last week.

It’s hard to see a way forward. The current Israeli government has, in effect, abandoned the idea of a two-state solution.

The Trump administration’s recent boycott of international conferences on the matter suggests America is taking a similar line, breaking with its long-standing position.

Arab nations could now be key in what happens next.

In an unprecedented move, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt joined a resolution calling for Hamas to disarm and surrender control of Gaza following a UN conference earlier this week.

This is hugely significant – highly influential powers in its own backyard have not applied this sort of pressure before.

For all the US delegation’s good intentions, it’s still political deadlock. Israeli hostages and Palestinians in Gaza left to starve and suffer the consequences.

World

Sydney Harbour Bridge pro-Palestine protest so busy it was ‘perilous’, police chief says

Published

10 hours ago

August 3, 2025

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Sydney Harbour Bridge pro-Palestine protest so busy it was 'perilous', police chief says

Tens of thousands of Sydney residents marched across the city’s iconic Harbour Bridge to support Palestinians in Gaza and call for an end to the war.

The decision to centre the protest on such an iconic landmark was controversial. The bridge is considered a symbol of unity in the city.

However, the Israel-Hamas war has been deeply divisive in Australia and increased tension between the country’s Jewish and Muslim communities.

On Sunday there were pro-Palestinian demonstrations in Melbourne, Adelaide and Sydney.

In Sydney organisers hoped 50,000 people would attend, despite heavy rain.

In the end, the bridge and the central business district were so packed – and the weather so bad – that police and organisers called the march off mid-way, fearing there would be a crush in the crowd.

Police said the crowd numbers in the Sydney Harbour Bridge march were “far greater” than expected, creating the risk of a crowd crush.

“It was perilous,” said senior officer Peter McKenna, adding his force was “very lucky the crowd was well-behaved”.

The final figures for the number of people who attended haven’t been released. But it was an impressive turnout in the tens of thousands.

Some of those attending the march, called by its organisers the March for Humanity, carried pots and pans as symbols of the hunger in the besieged enclave of Gaza.

There was also a surprise guest, Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.

He has largely kept a low profile since his release from a British prison last year. He didn’t speak to the crowd, but he was among those leading the march.

However, the demonstration almost didn’t happen after New South Wales police tried to stop it from taking place on the Harbour Bridge.

On Saturday, the country’s Supreme Court ruled it could go ahead.

Despite the rain, there were families with children and seniors as well. It was a true cross-section of Australian society.

One of the protesters, Sarah, drove up from the Blue Mountains outside Sydney to attend.

She said, “enough is enough” and the Australian government should take “stronger action”.

Sarah also said Australians want people to know they care about what’s happening in the world.

Australia has not joined France, the UK and Canada is announcing plans to recognise a Palestinian state in September.

The government here says recognition is a matter of “when not if”. But it has not committed to any timeline.

Public pressure is growing on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to take a stronger stand against the war. So far, he has largely resisted that pressure.

But the government’s language towards Israel is becoming more critical.

World

Just 36 aid trucks entered Gaza yesterday, Palestinian officials claim – short of 600 needed

Published

16 hours ago

August 3, 2025

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Just 36 aid trucks entered Gaza yesterday, Palestinian officials claim - short of 600 needed

Just 36 aid trucks entered Gaza on Saturday – despite the humanitarian situation in the enclave worsening, Palestinian officials have warned.

According to the Gazan government’s media office, most of the humanitarian supplies were looted and stolen – “as a result of the state of security chaos that the Israeli occupation systematically and deliberately perpetuates”.

Officials say at least 600 truckloads of aid are required on a daily basis, adding: “The needs of the population are worsening.”

A statement released late last night called for “the immediate opening of crossings, and the entry of aid and infant formula in sufficient quantities” – and “condemned in the strongest terms the continuation of the crime of starvation”.

Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, refuted this – and accused Hamas of “stirring up a slanderous propaganda campaign against Israel”.

He said: “The cruelty of Hamas has no boundaries. While the State of Israel is allowing the entry of humanitarian aid to the residents of Gaza, the terrorists of Hamas are deliberately starving our hostages and document them in a cynical and evil manner.

“The terrorists of Hamas are deliberately starving the residents of the Strip as well, preventing them from receiving the aid.”

It comes as the Palestinian Red Crescent in Gaza said its headquarters in Khan Younis were hit by an Israeli strike, killing one staff member and injuring three others.

Footage posted on social media shows a fire broke out in the building.

Indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel for a 60-day ceasefire, and a deal for the release of half the hostages still held in Gaza, ended in deadlock last week.

US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy told the families of the hostages yesterday that he was working with the Israeli government on a plan that would end the war.

Steve Witkoff claimed that Hamas was willing to disarm to stop the conflict, despite the group’s repeated statements that it would not do so.

In response, Hamas said it would not disarm unless an independent Palestinian state is established with Jerusalem as its capital.

After Mr Witkoff’s meeting with the families of the hostages, Hamas released two videos of an emaciated Israeli hostage, Evyatar David, who was abducted from the Nova music festival on 7 October 2023 and has been held in captivity in Gaza since.

The 24-year-old looked skeletal, with his shoulder blades protruding from his back. He was heard saying that he had not eaten for three days. The distressing videos show him digging his own grave, he said in the footage.