US President Donald Trump said late Wednesday that all hostages still being held in Gaza will be released as early as Monday under the first phase of a ceasefire plan agreed between Hamas and Israel.
More than two years after Hamas and its allies abducted 251 people from Israel and took them to Gaza, 47 hostages remain in the enclave, with at least 20 believed to be alive. The body of another hostage, Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) soldier Hadar Goldin, has been held here since he was killed in 2014 and his body was taken to the Strip.
The Israeli government says 26 of the 48 hostages have died, but the fate of the remaining two, Tamir Nimrodi and Bipin Joshi, remains unknown. The government had previously expressed “grave concern” about their fate.
All of the hostages who are believed to be alive are male, and all but one are in their 20s or 30s. Women, children and men over 50 were released under an earlier ceasefire agreement.
Another woman, Inbal Heyman, was one of the 26 people confirmed dead in Gaza.
Eleven people who were still believed to be alive or whose status was unknown were removed from the Nova Music Festival. The eight people were abducted from several kibbutzim (small communities) in southern Israel, including two foreigners who were working on Israeli farms. Three were Israeli soldiers, two were kidnapped from a military base and one from a tank.
Here’s what we know about them.
Twin brothers Ziv and Gali Berman were abducted from their home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza during the October 7 terrorist attack. They were 26 years old at the time. In an interview with CNN in February, his mother, Lilan Berman, said the other freed hostages told the family that the brothers were alive and that they were separated from each other.
Some of the hostages were kidnapped along with their friends and family, some of whom have since returned home.
Brothers Ariel and David Kunio were abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz, along with Ariel’s partner Yehud, David’s wife Sharon, and their three-year-old twin daughters Yuri and Emma. Sharon, Yuri, and Emma were released in November 2023 under a ceasefire agreement, and Yehud was released earlier this year.
Eitan Horn was visiting his brother Iea when he was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz. Iair was released earlier this year. A propaganda video of him bidding farewell to Eitan was released by Hamas in March. The Horne family said they were “heartbroken” to see him in the video.
“Since Iea returned to us, he has never stopped thinking about and working for Eitan and all the other hostages he met in captivity and who are still there,” the family said in a statement.
Matan Zangawker and his partner, Ilana Griszewski, were kidnapped from the same kibbutz as the Horn brothers. Griszewski, a Mexican national, was released on November 30, 2023 as part of a brief hostage and ceasefire agreement, but Zangaucar was left behind.
Omri Milan, then 46, was kidnapped when Hamas gunmen invaded his family home in Kibbutz Nahal Oz. In April 2024, Hamas released a video showing Milan and Israeli-American hostage Keith Siegel, who was later released.
Guy Gilboa Dalal and Evyatar David are childhood friends who were kidnapped together from the Nova Music Festival. In February 2025, Hamas filmed Gilboa Dalal and David watching other hostages being freed and posted the video on Telegram.
Gilboa Dalal’s brother Gal told CNN that this amounted to mental suffering. “It’s terrible to let them understand what freedom means to them and then slam the door on them and drag them into hell,” he said.
Abinatan Orr was also kidnapped from the Nova festival in June 2024, along with his girlfriend Noa Al-Ghamani, who was rescued during an IDF operation in central Gaza. She revealed that the two were separated during the kidnapping.
Alon Oher, Yosef-Chaim Ohana, Elkana Bobot, Segev Calfon, Maxim Harkin, Eitan Abraham Mol, Bar Kuperstein, and Rom Braslavsky were also kidnapped from the Nova Festival.
Mr. Ohel, Mr. Ohana, Mr. Bobot, Mr. Braslavskiy, and Mr. Mol were all seen helping injured victims at the scene before their abduction.
IDF soldiers Nimrod Cohen, Matan Angrest, and Tamir Nimrodi are among the youngest soldiers still held in Gaza.
Cohen appeared in a Hamas propaganda video posted online on March 1 of this year. His mother, Vicki Cohen, told CNN that the family was able to identify him thanks to a tattoo on his arm. “I knew it was Nimrod because of that tattoo. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have known it because I couldn’t hear him or see his face,” she told CNN.
Bipin Joshi, a Nepali student, was working on a farm in Kibbutz Al-Mim in southern Israel when he was abducted. His family announced earlier this week that an unreleased video showing him alive in captivity was recently recovered by Israeli forces in Gaza.
The video is believed to have been shot in November 2023, just weeks after Joshi’s abduction. In a statement released by the Hostage and Missing Families Forum, the family said the video gave them “unwavering belief” that Joshi was alive.
Israeli officials previously said they had “grave concerns” about Joshi.
In addition to Joshi, four other foreign nationals remain detained in Gaza, including three Thais and one Tanzanian.
Three of the four, Sontaya Oukkarasri and Sudisak Rintarak from Thailand, and Joshua Morrell from Tanzania, were confirmed dead by the Israeli government. The unnamed Thai national is believed to be alive.
As part of the agreement announced Wednesday, the bodies of 26 hostages who were confirmed dead by the government will also be returned.
However, three Israeli officials told CNN that Hamas may not know where some of the remains are or may not be able to recover them. One source said seven to nine of the dead hostages were believed to be affected, while others put the number at 10 to 15.
Inver Heyman was kidnapped from the Nova Festival. The Hostage and Missing Families Forum announced in December 2023 that she was killed by Hamas while in captivity. She is the only female hostage still remaining in Gaza.
At least 13 of the hostages left in Gaza were killed in the October 7, 2023, terrorist attack, and their bodies were taken to the enclave.
Among them are several Israeli soldiers, including Omer Maxim Neutra and Itai Chen, both of Long Island, New York, who are dual U.S. and Israeli citizens.
