Who are the first 73 Israeli hostages released by Hamas? | World News

Two more Israeli hostages were freed by Hamas on Thursday as part of a string of releases under a temporary ceasefire deal.

Qatar said 30 Palestinians, including 16 minors and 14 women, were released in exchange for the Israeli hostages set free on Wednesday.

In addition, two Russian citizens and four Thais were also released and handed over to the International Red Cross on the same day.

Some 240 people were kidnapped during the deadly Hamas attack of 7 October – the names of those released as of Thursday are:

Mia Schem, 21

The French-Israeli was described as “full of joy for life, and with a huge heart”.

She studied tattooing and works at a tattoo parlour and also enjoys drawing and cooking.

Mia has said to have a “fighting spirit” and is very family-oriented, always looking out for her siblings.

She was captured at the Supernova festival in the Israeli desert with her friend, Elia Toledano, who was also kidnapped and is still being held prisoner by Hamas.

A video of Ms Schem was published by Hamas days after her abduction showing her with an injured hand and begging to be released.

Amit Soussana, 40

She is a lawyer who works at Luzzatto & Luzzatto law firm, has three cats, enjoys rock music and plays tennis in her free time.

Ms Soussana lived by herself in Kibbutz Kfar Aza in southern Israel when she was kidnapped while hiding in the shelter at her home.

Liam Or, 18

Described as a “smiling and sensitive boy, funny and honest – salt of the earth”, Liam worked as a kindergarten teacher in the kibbutz.

Liat Atzili, 49

The mum of three is an educator and youth guide.

Liat and her husband Aviv were kidnapped from their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz. Aviv remains in Hamas captivity.

Moran Stela Yanai, 40

The jewellery designer was kidnapped while partying at the Re’im music festival, where she was selling her designs.

Raz Ben-Ami, 57

Raz is described as family-oriented, incredibly creative, and consistently positive. She has recently started volunteering in the kibbutz with the elderly doing handcrafts.

She was kidnapped from Kibbutz Be’eri with her husband Ohad, who is still held captive.

Raya Rotem, 54,

Raya works in a local printing factory and holds a degree in Chinese acupuncture.

She was kidnapped from her Kibbutz Be’eri home alongside her daughter Hila and Hila’s friend, Emily Hand, both of whom have been freed recently.

Yarden Roman, 36

Yarden is a physiotherapist who volunteers in her free time as a caregiver for the elderly in the kibbutz.

She was taken from Kibbutz Be’eri.

Itay Regev, 18

Itay is said to share a close bond with his sister Maya who was kidnapped alongside him from a party in Re’im.

Maya was released on Saturday.

He has just finished high school and is described as enjoying time with friends and parties, and being commitment-free.

Amit Shani, 16

Kidnapped from his mother’s house in Kibbutz Be’eri, along with Ofir Engel (the neighbour’s boyfriend) and neighbour Yossi Sharabi who is still held captive.

He surfs, sails and skateboards in his spare time, as well as playing the guitar.

Ofir Engel, 17

Ofir was visiting his girlfriend at her home in Kibbutz Be’eri on 7 October.

He was kidnapped along with his girlfriend’s father Yossi Sharabi – who remains in Hamas captivity – and their neighbour Amit Shani.

Ofir is said to be love basketball and plays on the Ashkelon Regional Council team.

Gali Tarshanksy, 13

Gali was kidnapped from the safe room of her home in Kibbutz Be’eri, where she hid with her older brother Lior, 16, who was murdered.

She is a volleyball player on the Hapoel Ashkelon team, her mother describes her as a real team player.

Rimon Kirsht, 36

The 36-year-old volunteers at a sexual assault and domestic violence support centre, where she assists victims and accompanies them to courts and police stations.

Rimon and her husband Yagev got married two years ago and lived in Kibbutz Nirim. Yagev is still a hostage in Gaza.

Clara Marman, 63, Gabriela Leimberg, 59, and Mia Leimberg, 17

Clara has lived in Nir Yitzhak since 1982 and has two daughters and three grandchildren.

She’s a retired kindergarten teacher but continues working with the elderly and with at-risk families.

Clara was kidnapped with her partner, Luis, and her brother, Fernando; both remain hostages in Gaza.

Her sister, Gabriela, and niece, Mia, were released at the same time as her.

Gabriela moved to Israel from Argentina in the 1990s and lives in Jerusalem, where she works for a disabilities inclusion group and runs an autism day centre.

Mia is a 12th-grade student who’s described as a phenomenal singer. She works at a bookshop.

Ofelia Roitman, 77

A resident of Kibbutz Nir Oz, she emigrated from Argentina in 1985 and was an educator for 20 years.

She was also a principal at Jewish schools in Argentina for five years before she moved to Israel.

Ditza Heiman, 84

Ditza is one of the founders of Kibbutz Nir Oz – she served in the Nahal group, where she met her first husband.

Since her husband passed away, she lives alone and adopted a cat named Mia.

Tamar Metzger, 78

She was kidnapped with her husband Yoram, who remains in Hamas captivity.

Tamar has limited mobility and spends a lot of time on the balcony of her small home – with the newspaper, crosswords and cigarettes.

Merav Tal, 53

She was kidnapped at Kibbutz Nir Oz, where she was visiting her partner Yair.

He’s still being held hostage but his children, Yagil and Or, were released yesterday.

Ada Sagi, 75

A resident of Kibbutz Nir Oz, she has three children and six grandchildren.

Ada teaches Hebrew and Arabic and was supposed to arrive in London on 20 October to celebrate her birthday with family there.

Her British-Israeli son, Noam Sagi, said his mother’s release was a “moment we have dreamt of and worked for every minute of every day since October 7”.

“It will be hard to believe it is true until we are able to embrace in person,” he said.

“Our first priority is my mum’s mental and physical health and we ask for time and space while we prioritise her wellbeing.”

Noralin ‘Natalie’ Babadilla, 60

A resident of Yahud-Monoson, she’d travelled with her partner, Gideon Babani, to the home of friends in Kibbutz Nirim to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the kibbutz.

Gideon was murdered in the Hamas attack on 7 October.

Eitan Yahalomi, 12

Eitan is described as “a very sensitive boy” who has “a big heart and immense empathy”. He was kidnapped with his father Ohad.

Karina Engel-Bart, 52, and daughters Mika Engel, 18, and Yuval Engel, 11

Ms Engel-Bart has just recovered from breast cancer after two years of treatment and surgeries and is still taking medication for it.

She was kidnapped with her husband and their two daughters from Kibbutz Nir Oz. Her husband, Ronen, remains a Hamas captive.

Sahar Kalderon, 16, and Erez Kalderon, 12

Sahar is described as loving art, drawing, sculpting clay, and listening to Korean pop and Billie Eilish. She also plays the bass.

Erez plays the trumpet, likes video games and has “very cynical” sense of humour “like a stand-up comedian”.

Their grandmother, Carmela Dan, was murdered in the Hamas attack and their dad, Ofer, was still being held hostage when they were released.

Or Yaakov, 16, and Yagil Yaakov, 12

Or is described as introverted, polite and a “delicate and sensitive soul” – who’s also addicted to Fortnite and loves going to the gym.

His brother Yagil is described as a “12-year-old who acts like he’s 22” who loves being the centre of attention and is the “class clown”.

The boys’ father, Yair, is also still being held by Hamas.

Sharon Aloni Cunio, 34, and twins Ema Cunio and Yuly Cunio, both three

Ms Cunio is personal adviser for the head of Ashkol regional council. She once did PR for a film and later ended up marrying its lead actor, David.

He wasn’t released alongside her. Her brother-in-law, Ariel, is also still a hostage.

The twins are described as “full of love” and “true kibbutz girls” who prefer trucks and mechanical tools over dolls.

Hagar Brodetz, 40, with her children, Ofry, 10, Yuval, eight, and Oriya, who is four

The family was taken hostage together on 7 October.

Chen Goldstein-Almog, with her three children, Agam, who is 17, Gal, 11, and eight-year-old Tal

Ms Goldstein-Almog, 49, is a social worker and was taken by Hamas alongside her children.

Dafna Elyakim, 15, and Ela Elyakim, 8

Abigail Edan, four

Four-year-old Abigail is a dual Israeli-American national, whose parents were reportedly killed in the 7 October attacks.

US President Joe Biden said on the day she was released that her father was “gunned down while using his body to shield little Abigail”, who then ran to a neighbour’s house where she was taken hostage alongside another family.

“What she endured is unthinkable,” Mr Biden told a news conference.

Ron Krivoi, 25

Mr Krivoi is a Russian-Israeli, whom Hamas said it had freed in appreciation of Moscow’s support during the conflict.

Alma Avraham, 84

Ms Avraham was among those freed on 26 November, the third day of the temporary truce deal between Israel and Hamas.

Aviva Adrienne Siegel, 62

Ms Siegel was freed after more than seven weeks in captivity.

Emily Hand, nine

Irish-Israeli schoolgirl Emily was taken from Be’eri on 7 October.

She was sleeping at her best friend’s house when the attack took place.

Her mother, Liat, died of cancer when Emily was two years old. Her father, Thomas, made multiple pleas for her safe return.

Thomas was initially told that Emily’s body had been found, but was later told that she was alive and among the hostages.

Hila Rotem Shoshani, 13

Hila managed to escape her home in Be’eri, but was found hiding in nearby bushes and kidnapped by Hamas militants.

Her mother, Raaya, was also kidnapped.

Hila had recently returned from a holiday in Korea and Thailand, where she had been visiting for her uncle’s wedding.

Maya Regev, 21

Maya was kidnapped, along with her brother Itay and their friend Omer She-Tov, while attending the Re’im festival.

She had gone to the festival hours after landing from Mexico, where she had been on holiday with her family.

Maya is due to go travelling across South America next month.

Noam Or, 17, and his 13-year-old sister, Alma

Noam was kidnapped from kibbutz Be’eri, along with his sister, Alma.

Their mother, Yonat, was murdered during the same attack.

Their eldest brother, Yahli, survived the attack as he was away in northern Israel on national service.

Shiri Weiss, 53, and her 18-year-old daughter, Noga

Described as “very family-oriented”, Shiri Weiss, an accountant for an agricultural association, was kidnapped from Be’eri, alongside her husband, Ilan, and her daughter, Noga.

Friends say Ms Weiss likes being in charge of planning family trips, while Noga has been described as a sports fan – particularly volleyball.

Noga hid under the bed during the attack, but was forced to flee the home after it was set on fire.

She escaped through a window, but was found hiding in bushes and was kidnapped.

Sharon Avigdori, 52, and her 12-year-old daughter, Noam

A drama therapist who works with people on the autism spectrum, Sharon Avigdori was taken with her daughter Noam while visiting her brother in kibbutz Be’eri.

Noam, a member of the Scouts movement, was about to celebrate her Bat Mitzvah when she was taken.

A further seven members of Ms Avigdori’s family were kidnapped and three were murdered on 7 October.

Shoshan Haran, 67, her daughter, Adi Shoham, and her grandchildren, Nave, eight, and Yahel, three

Sharon Haran is the founder of a non-profit organisation, who previously worked on agricultural projects in Africa.

She was taken along with eight members of her family, while her husband, sister, and brother-in-law, were murdered.

Her daughter, Adi Shoham, from Ma’aleh Tzvia, was kidnapped from Be’eri along with her husband and their two children, Nave and Yahel, and five other members of the family.

They were in Be’eri for a holiday visit.

Ms Shoham works as a clinical psychologist, while Nave is a huge fan of the Argentinian football star Lionel Messi, and his sister, Yahel, is a fan of singing.

The names of the hostages released on Friday are:

Adina Moshe, 72

She was kidnapped from her home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, after Hamas militants killed her husband Sa’id Moshe.

She has four children – Maya, Yael, Sasson, and Amos – and a number of grandchildren.

Her hobbies include cooking, gardening and reading.

Margalit Moses, 77

A cancer survivor, she has diabetes and fibromyalgia, and takes additional medications for blood pressure and thyroid.

She is said to be a sworn nature lover, especially of birds, and loves hiking despite her poor health.

Last summer she went on sailing trip in northern Norway and had plans to visit Mozambique this winter. Margalit’s other hobbies include knitting.

Daniel Aloni, 45, and her six-year-old daughter Emilia

The pair were kidnapped in Nir Oz while visiting Daniel’s sister Sharon Aloni-Cunio – who was also kidnapped along with her three-year-old twins Emma and Yuli, and their father David Cunio.

On 7 October at 11am Daniel sent a “last message” to her family which said there were terrorists in the house and she was afraid they would not survive.

Ruthy Munder, 78, Keren Munder, 54 and nine-year-old Ohad Munder

Ohad was kidnapped along with his mother, Keren, while they were visiting his grandmother Ruthy, who was also seized. He reportedly turned nine while in captivity. His mother is a teacher and children’s volleyball coach.

Ruthy Munder’s hobbies are said to include knitting, painting and sewing. Her husband, Ohad’s grandfather, was also kidnapped and is still being held by Hamas, it is thought.

Doron Katz Asher, 34, and her daughters Aviv, two, and Raz, four

The trio were kidnapped during a visit to relatives, including the girls’ grandmother, in Kibbutz Nir Oz.

Ms Katz Asher works as an accountant.

Hanna Peri, 79

The mother-of-three immigrated to Israel from South Africa in the 1960s. She works in a grocery store.

Ms Peri is said to have diabetes and suffers from severe vision loss in one eye. Her hobbies including gardening, Tai Chi and looking after her pet cat.

Footage, apparently of her, being taken away on a golf buggy went viral following Hamas’s attack.

Yaffa Adar, 85

Ms Adar has three children, eight grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

One of her grandchildren, Tamir Adar, 38, was kidnapped alongside her and is still thought to be held by Hamas.

Hana Katzir, 76

Ms Katzir was the 13th hostage to be released on Friday. Hamas forces reportedly claimed earlier this week that she had died in captivity.