Who are the 15 hostages whose bodies Hamas has to return to Israel?

Palestinian militants have so far released 13 bodies of hostages that were held in Gaza for the past two years as part of the ceasefire agreement in the Israel-Hamas war. The process of returning the bodies of the last 15 remaining hostages — as called for under the truce deal — has now stalled.

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. Israel has accused the militants of dragging their feet and threatened to resume military operations or withhold humanitarian aid if all of the remains are not returned.

Hamas last week freed the last 20 living hostages taken during its October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

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Here’s a look at the hostages whose remains have not been returned.

Tamir Adar, 38

Tamir Adar was a farmer and third-generation member of kibbutz Nir Oz. He loved hiking and spending time in nature with his kids. Adar was a member of the kibbutz’s emergency first responder team and left his family in their home’s safe room to help defend the community when Hamas attacked.

In the last message he sent to his wife before he was killed in the attack, he wrote: “You don’t open for anyone, even if it’s me asking you to open.”

Adar is survived by his wife and two children.

Adar’s grandmother, Yaffa Adar, 85, was kidnapped in the same attack two years ago, with militants driving her into Gaza on a golf cart, before being released in a ceasefire weeks later.

Sahar Baruch, 25

Sahar Baruch lived in Kibbutz Be’eri and loved science, the game Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: The Gathering and fantasy books. He was in chess competitions and was to begin an electrical engineering degree when he was abducted. He previously served in the military as a mechanic. He and his brother, Idan, were at their mother’s house at the time of the attack. His brother was killed.

Three months into Sahar’s captivity, the Israeli military said he was killed during an attempted rescue mission. He is survived by his parents and two other siblings.

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Itay Chen, 19

Itay Chen was an Israeli American who was abducted along with two other members of his tank battalion, Daniel Peretz, who also died, and Matan Angrest, who survived and was released from captivity last week. Chen loved basketball and studying human biology, according the Hostages Families Forum.

Originally from Netanya, in central Israel, Chen was killed in the October 7 attack and his body was taken to Gaza. His father, Ruby Chen, has met frequently with American leaders about getting all of the hostages returned to Israel, including the remains of the dead.

Itay Chen is survived by his parents, two brothers, and a dog named Gucci.

Amiram Cooper, 84

Amiram Cooper was one of the founders of kibbutz Nir Oz, an economist and the author of three poetry books, according to the Hostages Families Forum.

Cooper was abducted on October 7 from Nir Oz along with his wife, Nurit, who was released after 17 days. Cooper was featured in a Hamas video, filmed under duress, with two other elderly hostages. In June 2024, Israel confirmed that Amiram had been killed.

He leaves behind his wife, three children and nine grandchildren.

Oz Daniel, 19

Oz Daniel was an Israeli soldier who was killed on October 7. His body was taken from his tank along with three others.

He was a gifted guitarist who started playing at age 9. He practiced long hours even during his army service and dreamed of being a professional musician. His favorite band was Guns N’ Roses, according to the Hostages Families Forum. He is survived by his parents and twin sister.

Meny Godard, 73

Meny Godard was a professional soccer player before enlisting in the Israeli military and serving in the 1973 Mideast War, according to Kibbutz Be’eri. He served in a variety of different positions in the kibbutz, including at its printing press.

On the morning of October 7, Godard and his wife, Ayelet, were forced out of their home after it was set on fire. She hid in the bushes for a number of hours before militants discovered her and killed her. She was able to tell her children that Meny had been killed before she died.

The family held a double funeral for the couple. They are survived by four children and six grandchildren.

Hadar Goldin, 23

Hadar Goldin’s remains are the only ones that have been held in Gaza since before the war. The Israeli soldier was killed on August 1, 2014, two hours after a ceasefire took effect ending the that year’s war between Israel and Hamas. Based on evidence found in the tunnel where Goldin’s body was taken, including a blood-soaked shirt and prayer fringes, the military quickly determined that he had been killed in the attack.

Goldin is survived by his parents and three siblings, including a twin. He had proposed to his fiancée before he was killed. Earlier this year, Goldin’s family marked 4,000 days since his body was taken. The military retrieved the body of another soldier who was killed in the 2014 war earlier this year.

Ran Gvili, 24

Ran Gvili, who served in an elite police unit, was recovering from a broken shoulder he sustained in a motorcycle accident but rushed to assist fellow officers on October 7. After helping people escape from the Nova music festival, he was killed fighting at another location and his body was taken to Gaza. The military confirmed his death four months later. He is survived by his parents and a sister.

Assaf Hamami, 41

Colonel Assaf Hamami had been the commander of the Israeli military’s Southern Brigade since 2022. According to Israeli media, Hamami was the first person in the military to declare that Israel was at war, at 6:37 am on October 7, less than 10 minutes after the attack began. Hamami and two of his soldiers were killed and their bodies were taken to Gaza. The other two soldiers’ remains were retrieved in July 2024. Hamami is survived by his wife and three children.

Joshua Loitu Mollel, 21

Joshua Mollel was a Tanzanian agricultural student who arrived at kibbutz Nahal Oz only 19 days before October 7. He had finished agricultural college in Tanzania and hoped to gain experience in Israel he could apply at home. Two smaller Palestinian militant groups posted graphic footage on social media showing their fighters stabbing and shooting Mollel, according to a Human Rights Watch report. He is survived by two parents and four siblings in Tanzania.

Omer Neutra, 21

Israeli American Omer Neutra was born and raised on Long Island, New York. He moved to Israel to enlist in the army as a volunteer. Omer played soccer, basketball, and volleyball, and captained several teams at his school. He was abducted with the rest of his tank crew.

In December 2024, the military announced that Omer had been killed in the October 7 attack. Neutra’s parents were a regular presence at protests in the US and Israel, and addressed the Republican National Convention last year.

Dror Or, 52

Dror Or was a father of three who managed the dairy farm on Kibbutz Be’eri and was an expert cheesemaker. On October 7, the family was hiding in their safe room when militants lit the house on fire. Dror and his wife, Yonat, were killed. Two of their children were abducted and released during the November 2023 ceasefire.

Sudthisak Rinthalak

Sudthisak Rinthalak was an agricultural worker from Thailand who had been employed at Kibbutz Be’eri. According to the media, Rinthalak was divorced and had been working in Israel since 2017. Rinthalak was one of three Thai hostages whose bodies were held in Gaza.

Israeli troops recovered the body of Nattapong Pinta in June. The Thai Foreign Ministry has said 46 Thais have been killed during the war in addition to the three Thai hostages.

Lior Rudaeff, 61

Lior Rudaeff was born in Argentina and moved to Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak at age 7. He volunteered for more than 40 years as an ambulance driver and was a member of the community’s emergency response team. He was killed while battling militants on the morning of October 7 and his body was brought to Gaza. Rudaeff is survived by four children and three grandchildren.

Arie Zalmanovich, 85

Arie Zalmanovich moved to kibbutz Nir Oz with friends in the early days of the kibbutz, where he worked in agriculture and specialized in growing wheat. Zalmanovich died about five weeks into captivity in Gaza, according to a hostage who was held with him. He had two sons and five grandchildren.