Hamas Hostages
The BBC reports on some of the 200 plus Israeli hostages - including young children - kidnapped by Hamas terrorists and spirited away into Gaza.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-67053011
Hamas hostages: Who are the people taken from Israel?
The Israeli military says 222 people are currently being held hostage by Hamas, after its surprise attack on 7 October. Hamas has said it has hidden them in "safe places and tunnels" within Gaza.
Israel's military say the hostages include 20 children and between 10 and 20 over-60s. These are the stories of people confirmed by the BBC, or credibly reported, to have been abducted by Hamas from Israel.
On Friday 20 October two American hostages - a mother and a daughter - were released by Hamas.
This list is regularly updated and names may change, as some people feared kidnapped are confirmed to have been killed or released.
Last updated on 23 October 2023 at 12:45 GMT
Doron, Raz and Aviv Asher were taken captive while staying with relatives near the Gaza border. Husband Yoni saw a video of his wife and daughters, aged 5 and 3, being loaded onto a truck with other hostages. He also traced her mobile phone to Gaza.
Meirav Tal, her partner Yair Yaakov, and his children Yagil, 12, and Or, 16, are listed among the hostages. The children's mother, Ranana, was on the phone with them when Hamas arrived, and heard her youngest son cry: "Don't take me, I'm too young!" A video also appears to show Yair and Meirav with their captors.
Amit Shani, 16, was ordered into a car by Hamas gunmen after they broke into the family's safe room in Kibbutz Be'eri, his mother told the New York Times.
Tsachi Idan was last seen by his wife, Gali, as he was taken away by Hamas gunmen. Their family had been ambushed in their safe room in Kibbutz Nahal Oz. Their ordeal was live-streamed by Hamas. Their eldest child, Maayan - who had just turned 18 - was shot dead, Gali told the BBC.
Margalit Mozes, 78, was seen in a video clip being taken away from her home in the Nir Oz, a kibbutz in southern Israel close to Gaza, by Hamas, her brother Chanon Cohen told CBS. She has health problems that require almost constant medical care, her family said.
Amiram Cooper 85, and his wife Nurit, 80, were taken from their home in Nir Oz, their daughter-in-law Noa told the BBC. The family last spoke to the couple during the Hamas attack, Noa said, when the couple were in their safe room. The family later traced Amiram's phone to Gaza. Noa said the couple are without their medicines.
Judith Weinstein Haggai, 70, and husband Gad, 73, were also missing from Nir Oz after the Hamas attack. Ten days later, the Israeli military confirmed to the family they had been taken hostage, CTV News in Canada reported.
Adina Moshe, 72, was identified by her family in a video clip showing her wedged between two Hamas fighters on a motorbike, apparently taking her to Gaza. She had also been kidnapped from Nir Oz, her relatives told CNN.
Alex Danzig, 75, a scholar and historian of the Holocaust, was at his home in Nir Oz, when it was attacked by Hamas on 7 October. "We know for sure he was kidnapped," his son Mati told the BBC. Alex - whose older sister Edith is a Holocaust survivor - has spent the last 30 years working for Yad Vashem, Israel's Holocaust remembrance centre. His disappearance has triggered a campaign for his release, both in Israel and in Poland, the country of his birth.
Hagar Brodutch, 40, her daughter Ofri, 10, and sons Yuval, 8, and Oria, 4, were at Kfar Aza, a kibbutz near the border with Gaza, when Hamas struck, according to Avichai Brodutch, Hagar's husband and the children's father. He told ABC News that he initially believed they were dead - but then received a message from the kibbutz that they had been seen alive, being led away.
Ron Scherman, a 19-year-old Israeli soldier, was kidnapped at a border crossing, his mother Maayan told Israel's i24 news channel. She later identified him in a video posted by Hamas, she said.
Shiri, Yarden, Ariel and Kfir Bibas are believed to have been abducted from the kibbutz in southern Israel where they lived and where Shiri was a kindergarten teacher. Shiri was pictured holding Ariel, aged 3, and 9-month-old Kfir, surrounded by Hamas gunmen.
Yossi and Margit Silberman, Shiri's parents, are also missing and thought to have been captured.
Daphna Elyakim, 15, and her sister Ella, 8, were seen on video being held in their home in the Nahal Oz kibbutz, relatives said. The girls' father Noam Elyakim, Noam's partner Dikla Arava, and her 17-year-old son Tomer were killed. Relatives said Ella and Daphna have appeared in photos posted by Hamas.
Karina Ariev, a 19-year-old soldier, was serving at an army base near Gaza when she was kidnapped. Her sister Alexandra told the BBC she heard shooting as Karina called her during the attack, and later saw a video showing Karina being taken away in a vehicle.
Ofer, Erez and Sahar Kalderon were taken prisoner in Kibbutz Nir Oz. A video on social media appeared to show 12-year-old Erez being taken by gunmen towards Gaza, their relative Ido Dan told the BBC. Two other relatives, 80-year-old Carmela Dan and her granddaughter, Noya, 12, were also believed to have been taken, but Israeli authorities later announced they had been found dead.
Mia Shem, 21, from Shoham, appeared in the first hostage video released by Hamas saying that she had been abducted from a party. The Israel Defense Forces confirmed she was taken hostage and said they were in touch with her family, who agreed images from the video could be shown.
Channah Peri, 79, and her son Nadav Popplewell, 51, were taken hostage by Hamas, said Channah's daughter Ayelet Svatitzky, who was speaking to them on the phone when the gunmen burst in. She said the captors sent pictures of her two relatives, who both have diabetes, with armed men in the background.
Omri Miran, 46, was abducted after his family opened the door to their secure shelter to an Israeli child, who said he would be killed otherwise. Omri's wife, Lishay Lavi, said she saw him being taken away in handcuffs with three other hostages from the Nahal Oz kibbutz.
Liri Elbag, 18, had just started military training as an Army lookout near the Gaza border when Hamas attacked, her father Eli told the Associated Press. Eli said he saw her in a video circulated later by Hamas, crowded with others on the back of a military truck which had been seized by the gunmen.
A number of people are believed to have been abducted from the Supernova music festival in southern Israel. Among them:
Moran Stela Yanai, 40, a jewellery designer, was selling her work at the festival when the attack happened. She was later seen in a video sitting on the ground surrounded by derogatory Arabic text about Jews, her brother told the Associated Press.
Almog Meir Jan, 21, tried to flee the festival. He and a friend made it to the friend's car but only managed to drive a short distance before being forced to stop. Almog's family say they have seen a hostage video in which he appears. It is not known what happened to Almog's friend.
Inbar Heiman, a student aged 21, was seen by two young Israeli men being taken away from the festival on a motorcycle. Hamas have released a video in which Inbar is seen very briefly.
Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, from California, was seen by witnesses being loaded onto a truck, his family told the Los Angeles Times. He was badly injured and unconscious, the witnesses said, and his last known phone location showed him on the border with Gaza.
Maya Regev, 21, and her brother Itay, 18, from Herzliya are also believed to have been taken. On the morning of the attack, Maya's father got a call from his daughter who screamed "Dad they're shooting at me, I'm dead". The family said they later spotted Itay in handcuffs in the back of a vehicle in a video released by Hamas. Almost two days later, the Israeli army informed the family that both Maya and Itay had been abducted.
Shani Louk, a tourist from Germany, is thought to be among those seized. Her mother, Ricarda, said she had seen a video of Shani after she was taken and later said she had information that Shani was in a critical condition in Gaza following a head injury.
Noa Argamani, a Chinese-born Israeli citizen, was also kidnapped from the festival. Video footage - verified by her father Yaakov Argamani to Israel's Channel 12 - shows the 25-year-old being taken away on the back of a motorbike screaming, "Don't kill me!"
Bar Kuperstein, 21, last spoke to his family early on the morning of 7 October, as the attack unfolded. Later the same day, his family say they identified him in a video of Israeli prisoners, posted by Hamas. Since then, they say they have had no further information.
Vivian Silver, 74, a renowned peace campaigner. Her last communication was to say that her home in Kibbutz Be'er was under attack.
Roni Eshel, 19, was based in an army base on the Gaza border. Her family say the last time they heard from her was on the morning of the Hamas attack. Her base was under attack. She sent a text message to her mother at around 09:30, saying: "Mom, I am okay, I am busy, I love you."
