Hamas freed a group of 10 Israeli hostages, four Thai nationals and two Israeli-Russian dual citizens on Wednesday, the sixth such release of hostages since a cease-fire began on Friday.
The group included a few relatives of people who had already been released.
Here’s what we know about the Israeli hostages released on Wednesday.
Ra’aya Rotem, 54
Ra’aya Rotem, 54, her daughter, Hila, 12, and her daughter’s friend Emily Hand, 9, were hiding in her family’s safe room in Kibbutz Be’eri on the morning of Oct. 7, before they were kidnapped. Ra’aya texted her brother around noon, telling him that she and her daughter were being taken, according to The Times of Israel.
On Saturday, Hila was released from Hamas captivity without her mother, an apparent breach of the agreement between Israel and Hamas that children would be released with mothers, according to Israeli officials.
Hila told her relatives that she and her mother had been together for most of the time that they were in captivity, and that they were only separated two days before Hila was released, according to a report in The Times of Israel.
Itay Regev, 18
Itay and his sister Maya, 21, were at the Tribe of Nova music festival in Re’im on Oct. 7, when Hamas terrorists infiltrated Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking more than 200 hostage. The siblings tried to escape together and were captured and taken captive in Gaza.
Maya, who sustained a gunshot injury to her leg, was released on Saturday, without her brother.
Raz Ben-Ami, 56
Raz Ben-Ami was kidnapped by Hamas from the Be’eri kibbutz on Oct. 7.
When she was taken hostage, Ms. Ben-Ami was being treated for neurosarcoidosis, a serious and rare disease that affects the brain, spinal cord or peripheral nerves, and has caused lesions to develop in her brain and spine.
Her medication suppresses the immune system, making her susceptible to infections, and her physicians said that they feared she would not survive in captivity for long.
Ms. Ben-Ami has had the disease for 13 years. Family members said that while the condition is painful, she has not complained and has maintained a positive attitude. She is an amateur artist, and enjoys beading, macramé and making jewelry. She recently started volunteering to do arts and crafts with older adults on the kibbutz.
Her husband Ohad, who was kidnapped with her, remains a hostage in Gaza.
Gali Tarshansky, 13
Gali Tarshansky, 13, was kidnapped alone on Oct. 7 from her home in Be’eri, a kibbutz near the Gazan border. Her brother Lior, 16, who was hiding with her, was murdered, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.
Ms. Tarshansky is a volleyball player on the Hapoel Ashkelon team and an animal lover, her family said. She also loves dancing, music and Marvel movies.
Her mother, Reuma, voiced her concern over her daughter’s safety at an event in Tel Aviv, Reuters reported, where other relatives of women and young girls held hostage urged women’s rights groups to push for the release of their loved ones.
Her grandmother, Kamelia Hoter Ishay, said on Tuesday she was fearful that the deal would collapse.
“The only thing I am waiting for is the phone call from my daughter, Reuma, who will say, ‘Gali is coming back,’” she said on Tuesday, Reuters reported. “And then I’ll know that it’s really over and I can breathe a sigh of relief.”
Yarden Roman-Gat, 36
Yarden Roman Gat, a physiotherapist who lived on Kibbutz Be’eri, was forced into a car commandeered by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7, along with her husband, Alon, and 3-year-old daughter, Gefen, according to an account in The Times of Israel.
As the car approached the border with Gaza, the family spotted an Israeli tank and used the opportunity to jump out of the car. As they started running, Ms. Gat handed her daughter to her husband. The gunmen pursued them, shooting in their direction.
Ms. Gat was eventually captured and taken hostage, but her husband and daughter managed to evade the terrorists by hiding under bushes, taking cover for 12 hours, according to The Times of Israel account.
Liat Binin Atzili, 49
Liat Binin Atzili and her husband, Aviv Atzili, were kidnapped from their home on Kibbutz Nir Oz on Oct. 7.
Liat, a dual citizen of the United States and Israel, is a mother of three adult children and an educator, who also works as a tour guide for youth groups at Yad Vashem, the holocaust remembrance center in Jerusalem. She has traveled extensively in India, and enjoys nature and wildlife. Her husband remains in captivity.
Moran Stela Yanai, 40
Moran Stela Yanai, a self-employed artist and jewelry designer from Be’er Sheva, had gone to the Nova music festival in Re’im to sell her handmade jewelry, according to the hostages and missing families forum.
Ms. Yanai contacted her family while trying to escape by car with a friend after the attack started. Friends who survived told Ms. Yanai’s relatives that, after the telephone call, the group encountered another gang of terrorists. Her friends fled in different directions, losing touch with Ms. Yanai.
Liam Or, 18
Liam Or, a kindergarten teacher in Kibbutz Be’eri, was taken hostage at the home of his uncle. He is a chess champion and an ardent supporter of the Hapoel Tel Aviv soccer team.
His uncle, Dror Or, and his cousins, Noam, 17, and Alma, 13, were taken hostage at the same time. Noam and Alma were released on Saturday. The Or family believes that Dror is being held in Gaza.
Ofir Engel, 17
Ofir Engel, a high school student from Jerusalem, was visiting his girlfriend, Yuval Sharabi, 17, at Kibbutz Be’eri on Oct. 7 when he was kidnapped by Hamas militants.
He was taken hostage along with his girlfriend’s father, Yossi Sharabi.
Amit Shani, 16
When Hamas terrorists entered the safe room of Amit Shani’s house on Kibbutz Be’eri just after noon on Oct. 7, the 16-year-old tried to resist, his mother, Tal Shani, said in an interview last month.
“I said, ‘Don’t! Don’t! We have only our hands and they have guns! They will shoot you!’” Ms. Shani recalled. The gunmen ordered Ms. Shani, Amit and his two younger sisters to march down a road. Amit and two Israeli men from another house were ordered into a car, Ms. Shani said.
“I was begging and crying and begging to leave him alone and take me,” Ms. Shani said. One of the kidnappers, she said, raised his gun toward her. She and her two younger daughters were left behind and were rescued by Israeli soldiers later that night. The army later confirmed that Amit had been kidnapped.
“I don’t know how we survived it,” she said. “It’s like a nightmare movie.”
Irena Tati, 73, and Yelena Trupanob, 50
Irena Tati, a physician, and her daughter, Yelena Trupanob, immigrated to Israel from the former Soviet Union and are dual Israeli-Russian citizens, according to the hostages and missing families forum.
They were kidnapped from their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz on Oct. 7. Yelena’s husband, Vitaly Trupanob, was murdered in the attack. Yelena’s son Sasha, 28, and his girlfriend, Sapir Cohen, 29, were also taken hostage and are still being held in Gaza.
Nadav Gavrielov and Talya Minsberg contributed reporting.
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