Babies, grandmas, entire families: The heartbreaking stories of the Gaza hostages

A four-day truce in the Israel-Hamas war began Friday, allowing the exchange of scores of hostages held by militants in Gaza in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Hamas took these hostages, including women, kids, and older folks, from Israel on 7 October after it attacked Israel. The country has identified 97 of them in Gaza, many of them kept in Hamas-operated tunnels. Israel’s Cabinet gave the green light to a deal with Hamas, agreeing for the release of 50 of the estimated 240 hostages during this temporary pause in fighting. Here is what we know about the captives. Americans and French nationals Based on interviews with relatives and Israeli media reports, AFP has confirmed the identities of 210 of the around 240 people abducted on 7 October during Hamas attacks on military posts, communities and a desert music festival. The hostages, who are set for staggered release in return for a four-day truce and the release of Palestinian prisoners, are women and children and include both Israelis and foreigners. The United States has said that three Americans, including three-year-old Abigail Mor Idan, will be among the first captives to be released starting Thursday. “One or two” French hostages are also due for release, French lawmaker Meyer Habib told a French Jewish radio station. **Also Read: Who are the Palestinian prisoners on Israel’s list for release?** Four women hostages have already been released by Hamas and one female soldier was rescued by Israeli forces. Two others were found dead by Israeli forces in Gaza — 19-year-old soldier Noa Marciano and Yehudit Weiss, a 65-year-old former nurse. Thirty-five children, including nine-month-old baby At least 35 of those taken hostage were children, with 18 of them aged 10 or under at the time of the Hamas attack. One of the youngest hostages is Kfir Bibas, a boy who was just nine months old when gunmen snatched him from Nir Oz kibbutz near the Gaza border, along with his four-year-old brother Ariel and his parents Yarden and Shiri. Shiri appears in a video from the day of the attack seen by the family, cradling her children in her arms with gunmen all around her. [caption id=“attachment_13425972” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Hamas captured the hostages in a 7 October cross-border attack that killed at least 1,200 people and triggered an Israeli invasion of Gaza. AP[/caption] Some of the children have had their birthdays in captivity. Campaigners held a birthday party in London last week for an Irish-Israeli girl, Emily Hand, who turned nine in captivity. She had been on a sleepover at a friend’s house in Beeri kibbutz when she was snatched, her father said. Yoni Asher, whose wife Doron, daughters Raz, four, and Aviv, two, and mother-in-law Efrat were snatched from Nir Oz kibbutz, has left his job as a property developer to devote all his time to bringing his family home. **Also Read: How Israel’s Unit 504 is uncovering Hamas presence in Gaza** They were seen in a video being taken away by militants in the back of a pick-up truck. Twelve-year-old Eitan Yahalomi is one of at least three Israel-French children being held. His uncle Ari Levi, who took part in a march from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem last week to press for the hostages’ release, vowed: “When Eitan comes home, I’ll buy him the best bike in the world.” Octogenarians and whole families At least 68 of those abducted were women, including Yaffa Adar, who was 85 when she was filmed being whisked away from the Nir Oz kibbutz in what appeared to be a golf cart. At least eight of the hostages are aged over 80. Nine people were taken from a family in Nir Oz kibbutz, which had at least 71 of its around 400 residents abducted — the highest number for a single community. Sharon Aloni Cunio, 34, her husband David, 33, and their twin three-year-old daughters Emma and Yuly, were all seized on 7 October. [caption id=“attachment_13425962” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Families and friends of about 240 hostages held by Hamas in Gaza call for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to bring them home during a demonstration in Tel Aviv, Israel. AP[/caption] So were David’s brother Ariel, Ariel’s partner Arbel Yahod and her brother Dolev and Sharon’s sister Danielle and Danielle’s five-year-old daughter Amelia. Danielle, 44, appeared in a video released by Hamas on 30 October 30 along with two other women named in a statement by Netanyahu as Yelena Trupanov and Rimon Kirsht. In the video, Aloni urged Netanyahu to agree to a prisoner exchange with the Palestinians. Hostages from 26 nations  Apart from Israel, 26 countries have citizens among the hostages, according to figures from the Israeli foreign ministry. Many are dual nationals. Twenty-six Thais were abducted along with 21 Argentines, 18 Germans, 10 US citizens, seven French and seven Russians, according to figures provided by their governments. Proof of life Hamas has released two proof-of-life videos, one of Aloni and two other women, and an earlier clip showing French-Israeli woman Mia Shem, 21, pleading for help. **Also Read: Behind the scenes of the Israel deal with Hamas for the release of 50 hostages** Islamic Jihad, another Palestinian militant group in Gaza, on 9 November released a video it said showed two other hostages — Hannah Katzir, a woman in her 70s, and Yagil Yaakov, 13. Between 15 and 30 other people, mostly foreigners, are still considered missing, according to Israeli media. They are believed to have either been taken captive or to have been killed on 7 October but have not yet been identified. With inputs from AFP