Gaza war hostage crisis

In the wake of the October 7 attacks that sparked the Gaza war, Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups abducted 251 people from Israel to the Gaza Strip, including children, women, and elderly people. Almost half of the hostages were foreign nationals or had multiple citizenships, and some hostages were Negev Bedouins. The hostages were held in different locations in the Gaza Strip.

168 hostages were returned alive to Israel, with 105 released in the 2023 Gaza war ceasefire, five released by Hamas outside the framework of any ceasefire agreement, eight rescued by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), 30 released during the January 2025 Gaza war ceasefire. The 20 remaining living hostages were released as part of the Gaza peace plan on 13 October 2025.

The bodies of 85 hostages were repatriated to Israel, who were killed on 7 October 2023 or in Hamas captivity. Three had escaped captivity, and were killed in a friendly fire incident by IDF troops. An additional 48 hostages were recovered in military operations, 8 were returned in the January 2025 ceasefire deal, and 27 during the Gaza peace plan. The body of the last hostage, Ran Gvili, was recovered by Israeli forces from a cemetery in northern Gaza on 26 January 2026.

The return of the hostages was a goal of the Israeli operation in Gaza. Its status as the main goal has been debated by Israeli politicians.

Hamas offered to release all hostages in exchange for Israel releasing all 5,200 Palestinian prisoners at the start of the war. Several countries have been involved in negotiations between Israel and Hamas, with Qatar taking the lead.

Israel and Hamas agreed on 22 November 2023 to a four-day ceasefire and the release of 50 women and children held hostage in exchange for 150 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. By the last day of the ceasefire on 30 November 2023, 105 civilian hostages had been released, including 81 people from Israel, 23 Thais and one Filipino. Two Argentinian-Israeli civilians were rescued in Operation Golden Hand on 12 February 2024. Hamas insinuated on 2 September 2024 that it would kill any hostage that the IDF attempted to rescue with military force, so that Israel could only receive the hostages back by negotiating an exchange of Palestinian prisoners. It was announced on 15 January 2025 that Hamas would release 33 out of 98 hostages in a first phase that included infants, children, women, elderly men, and younger men with injuries or health issues. Israel released more than 1,000 Palestinians being held in Israeli prisons in exchange.