Who are the 13 Israeli hostages released by Hamas on Day 1 of Gaza ceasefire?

On Friday, Hamas freed the first group of prisoners that had been held captive for seven weeks. The release is part of the truce agreement with Israel and brings the total of released hostages to 29 out of the approximately 240 taken to Gaza during the 7 October attack. Six elderly people, three mothers and their four children were freed, along with ten Thai hostages and one Filipino hostage who were not involved in the agreement between Israel and Hamas, according to Qatar. After being released, the captives were given by the Red Cross to Egyptian authorities and taken to Hatzarim Airbase in Israel, where they will presumably be flown to hospitals for further examinations. Notably, prior to the agreement, in October, five hostages had already been freed. Here’s all we know about the 13 Israeli hostages. Who are the freed Israeli hostages? Ruth Munder, her daughter Keren and grandson - Keren Munder, 54, and her son, who turned nine in captivity, were abducted from the Nir Oz kibbutz in Kfar Saba, north of Tel Aviv, while they were paying a visit to their 78-year-old captive grandparents, Ruth and Abraham Munder. [caption id=“attachment_13429312” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Karen and Ohad were two of the hostages released on Friday. AP[/caption] Roee Munder, a 50-year-old brother of Keren, lost his life in the attack on 7 October. Doron Katz-Asher and her two daughters - The two children, ages two and four, that were abducted together with Doron Katz-Asher, 34, were taken from the Nir Oz kibbutz, where they were visiting Efrat Katz, Doron’s mother, who was killed in the October 7 incident. The three released hostages are citizens of Germany. Yoni Asher, Doron’s husband, who had spent the day in their Tel Aviv residence, knew his wife and daughters from a video. [caption id=“attachment_13429292” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Doron and her daughters, Aviv and Raz Asher Katz were three of the hostages released on Friday. AP[/caption] Ravid Katz, Doron’s brother, was also kidnapped, as well as the partner of Efrat Katz, Gadi Moses and his ex-wife Margalit Moses. Margalit Moses - The 77-year-old woman, who has cancer and requires daily medical care according to her relatives, appeared in a video showing her capture from Nir Oz. She has German nationality, according to the country’s media. [caption id=“attachment_13429362” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Undated handout photo of Margalit Moses. AP[/caption] Adina Moshe - The 72-year-old was kidnapped from Nir Oz. After the attack she was identified by her family in a video clip showing her on a motorbike wedged between two Hamas fighters. Her grandson told CNN, the septuagenarian was forced to hold on to the man who had shot and killed her husband Said David Moshe so as not to fall from the motorbike. She had heart surgery last year and needs medication. Danielle Aloni and her daughter - Danielle Aloni, 45, and her five-year-old daughter were kidnapped from Nir Oz kibbutz while they were hiding in the safe room at Danielle’s sister, Sharon Aloni-Konio’s home. The attackers set the house on fire before capturing them. Aloni appeared in a video released by Hamas on 30 October. [caption id=“attachment_13429352” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Undated handout photo of Daniel Aloni and her daughter Emilia. AP[/caption] Their extended family is the one with the most hostages taken, nine in total. Danielle and her daughter were captured along with Sharon, 34, her actor husband David Konio, 33, his brother Ariel, 26, Ariel’s partner Arbel Yahod, 28, and her brother Dolev Yahod, 35. Yaffa Adar - The 85-year-old resident of Nir Oz kibbutz was one of the oldest hostages taken to Gaza. The video of her kidnapping aboard what appeared to be a golf cart was shared widely on social media. Her granddaughter Adva Adar was worried about the health of her grandmother, who suffers from heart and kidney failure, and high blood pressure. Tamir Adar, Yaffa’s grandson, was also taken hostage. [caption id=“attachment_13429342” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Adar is one of the hostages released on Friday. AP[/caption] Hanna Katzir - Hannah Katzir, 76, a former nanny, was abducted from Nir Oz kibbutz along with her son, Elad Katzir, 47. She appeared in a hostage video released by Islamic Jihad on November 9. She uses a walking frame and needs medication, according to her family. [caption id=“attachment_13429282” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Hannah Katzir is one of the hostages released on Friday. AP[/caption] Channah Peri - The 79-year-old woman, who has South African nationality, was on the phone with her daughter when the attackers burst into her home in Nirim kibbutz. Her daughter then tried to contact her brother who lives in another house to get to safety, but it was too late. Shortly after, she received a photo, sent from her mother’s phone, showing Channah in her pyjamas in her living room alongside her son. According to her daughter, Channah is diabetic and needs insulin. [caption id=“attachment_13429322” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Peri is one of the hostages released on Friday. AP[/caption] What’s the deal between Israel and Hamas? Israel is set to free three times as many Palestinian prisoners – women and teenage boys – under a deal that followed weeks of talks involving Israel, Palestinian militant groups, Qatar, Egypt and the United States, according to AFP. A total of 150 Palestinians prisoners are expected to be released. Of the 39 released on Friday, 28 were freed in the occupied West Bank, an AFP correspondent saw, while the other 11 were on their way to annexed east Jerusalem. On the other hand, during a four-day truce, at least 50 hostages are expected to be freed, leaving an estimated 190 in the hands of Palestinian militants.

Hamas broke through Gaza’s militarised border with Israel on 7 October to kill, according to Israeli officials, about 1,200 people and seize around 240 Israeli and foreign hostages. Who are the hostages that were already freed? According to BBC, four hostages were released prior to the agreement reached between Israel and Hamas, and Israeli forces also freed one hostage: On 20 October, two Americans were freed: Judith Raanan and her daughter Natalie Raanan. On 23 October, two elderly women, Nurit Cooper and Yocheved Lifschitz, were set free. On 29 October, while conducting ground operations in Gaza, Ori Megidish, an Israeli soldier, was set free. As part of a separate deal between Hamas and the Egyptian government, Gelienor “Jimmy” Leano Pacheco, 33, was the only Filipino among 11 foreign workers to be released. The father of three had been living in Israel for the previous four years, helping to look after Amita Ben Zvi, an 80-year-old resident of the Nir Oz kibbutz, who Pacheco claimed was killed in the 7 October attack. Although it was thought that Wichai Kalapat was one of the Thai nationals killed in the Hamas raid, his girlfriend learned last week that he was being kept captive in Gaza. With inputs from AFP