Copyright © HT Digital Streams Limit all rights reserved. The American envoy at the Middle East Steve Witkoff, right, speaks at a meeting in support of hostages kidnapped by Hamas, at a square known as Gyzedages Square, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, October 11, 2025, before the expected release of the Gachaates held in the Gaza strip. (AP -Photo) Summary The agreement to stop the war after more than two years means 48 remaining hostages, living and dead, is likely to be released soon. This is the last of the hostages held in Gaza. Of 48 still in captivity, it is believed that 20 are alive, while the status of two is not known. Among the survivors are two sets of siblings. Some of the dead are soldiers. Everyone is men except for one woman who died Israel. In the coming hours or days, it is expected that the living and the dead will begin to come home after more than two years, a painful and long-haul for Israelites, and the clearest sign, but that the cruel war in Gaza may eventually be over. Israel and Hamas reached an agreement this week to return the hostages in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners, part of a broader agreement mediated by President Trump to end the war. About 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage during the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which elicited the war. The subsequent conflict killed tens of thousands of Palestinians. People on both sides are eager to see an end to the battles so that wounds can begin to heal. Here’s what is known about the remaining hostages: Child friends Guy Gilboa-Dalal and Evyatar David, both 24, are under 11 in Gaza trapped at the tribe of Nova festival, a desertrave, where about 3,000 people collected to dance to psychedelic trance music early on October 7. Gilboa-Dalal is a talented guitar family. They described him as a shy child fascinated by Japan, they said. He was a fan of Naruto, a Japanese cartoon, and was planning a trip to Japan after taught himself the language. According to his brother, he took two Kimonos to Nova. More than 360 participants were killed and at least 40 were taken hostage at the festival, according to Israel. Around Sonop, the participants see rockets through the air above them. The music stopped and they were told to leave, but the few roads outside were already blocked by approaching militants. Feared participants fled through countries, hid behind trees and hidden in garbage dumps, showed videos from the scene. Attackers threw grenades in shelters along the way where people sought safety. Some who were killed or imprisoned worked at the festival as security guards and residents, including Eitan Mor (25), Bar Kupershtein, 23, and Rom Braslavski, 21, who are among those still detained. Another prisoner, Alon Ohel, 24, is a musician. His family has a piano, his instrument of choice, installed at a courtyard in Tel Aviv, known as hostage square. Passers -by are encouraged to play it in honor of him. H hostage earlier freed, said they were with him in Hamas’ underground tunnels, where he was kept in shackles and still left a piece of shrapnel in his eye. The other hostages taken at the festival and are still returned are Avinathan or, 32, Elkana Bohbot, 36, Maxim Recin (37), Segev Kalfon, 27 and Yosef-Chaim Ohana, 25 years. Brothers Ariel and David Cunio, 28 and 35, were hosted hostage in Nir Oz, a kibbutz in the Gaza border, where more was a quarter of the population, or he could evade. The small agricultural community was home to about 400 people before the attacks on October 7. The Cunio brothers are among four living hostages of the kibbutz that is still in captivity. The remains of five others will also be returned. Ariel was abducted with his fiancé, Arbel Yehud, who was released during a ceasefire in January. David was taken with his wife, Sharon, and their two young daughters, who were released in November 2023. Community members say 76 people were held hostage at Nir Oz, a kibbutz where the largest number of prisoners of a single place was taken. Among them were the Bibas family, a couple and their two young red -headed children. Yarden Bibas was freed in February. His wife, Shiri, and their two young children died in captivity and were returned to Israel in February. Eitan Horn, 39, visited his brother at Nir Oz when they were taken hostage. Their family emigrated from Argentina to Israel. Eitan, the youngest, came when he was 16 years old, his sister -in -law Dalia Cusnir said. “He couldn’t wait to finish high school and join the army,” she said. Iir Horn, who was freed during a ceasefire in February, told family members that, despite his release, he would never feel free before his brother and every other hostage return, according to Cusnir. Matan Zangauer, 25, is a soldier whose mother is relentlessly striving for his release and protesting while being tied in chains. Zangauker’s partner, Ilana Gritzewsky, was also taken hostage, but was released in 2023. Twin brothers Gali and Ziv Berman, each 28 years old, were taken with several neighbors from another kibbutz named Kfar Aza. The attack on Kfar Aza was striking for its extreme brutality; United Nations investigators said they saw evidence of sexual violence and beheading. Gali and Ziv are best friends, their older brother Liran said in a video shared by the hostages and missing families forum. They traveled widely and worked together at an audio production business. They were separated on their first day of captivity, Liran said in a separate video interview with a Rabbi in July this year. Matan Angrest, 22, and Omri Miran, 48, were taken from Nahal Oz, another kibbutz. Angrest’s mother released graphic video of his abduction, showing that he was beaten. “My son is in a cage, hungry, without daylight,” Anat Angrest said. Miran is a gardener and a practitioner of Shiatsu, a Japanese therapy similar to acupuncture, according to a biographical video released by the hostages and the Miss families forum. Corporal Nimrod Cohen, 21, was on duty to secure the area near Kibbutz Nirim when his tank did not function, his father told the UN news service. Militants overtook the vehicle and slaughtered its crew, the report states. Cohen was the only one to be alive. Israeli authorities believe that Tamir Nimrodi and Bipin Joshi may have died in captivity, but that he did not make a final determination. Nimrodi, 20, is a soldier kidnapped at a border checkpoint between Israel and North Gaza. Joshi, 24, was part of a group of Nepali University students who had just arrived in Israel for an agricultural program to take care of orange and lemon orchards in alumim, a kibbutz, when the 7 attack occurred. He helped save many of his fellow farmers before being imprisoned. Write to Feliz Solomon at feliz.solomon@wsj.com and Natasha Dangoor at natasha.dangoor@wsj.com Catch all the business news, market news, newsletters and latest news updates on Live Mint. Download the Mint News app to get daily market updates. More Topics #Israel-Hamas War Read Next Story
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