Israel has celebrated the return of the last 20 living hostages who were held in Gaza under the first phase of the fragile Israel-Hamas ceasefire. The militants have subsequently released the remains of 23 hostages under the current truce with Israel, which leaves five bodies of hostages still remaining in Gaza. Hamas says it has […]
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A look at the hostages left in Gaza, by the numbers
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Israel has celebrated the return of the last 20 living hostages who were held in Gaza under the first phase of the fragile Israel-Hamas ceasefire.
The militants have subsequently released the remains of 23 hostages under the current truce with Israel, which leaves five bodies of hostages still remaining in Gaza.
Hamas says it has not been able to reach all of the remains because they are buried under rubble left behind by Israel’s two-year offensive in the Gaza Strip, while Israel accuses the militants of dragging their feet and has threatened to resume military operations or withhold humanitarian aid if all of the remains are not returned.
Since the ceasefire began last month and as part of the deal, Israel has returned the remains of 15 Palestinians for each Israeli hostage. So far, Israel has released the remains of 300 Palestinians to Gaza in exchange for the remains of the hostages.
Health officials in Gaza have struggled to identify the bodies without access to DNA kits and have identified 89 of the bodies.
Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 hostages in the Oct. 7, 2023 attack.
The ensuing war has killed more than 68,800 Palestinians in Gaza, about half of whom were women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The ministry, which is part of the Hamas-run government, maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts.
Here are details on the hostages:
Total hostages taken during the Oct. 7 attack: 251
Hostages taken before the Oct. 7 attack: 4 (2 who entered Gaza in 2014 and 2015 and the bodies of 2 soldiers killed in the 2014 war)
Living hostages released in exchanges or other deals: 160
Hostages rescued alive: 8
Bodies of hostages released in deals: 30
Bodies of hostages retrieved by Israeli forces: 51
Bodies of hostages still in captivity: 5 (including 1 Thai national)
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