JERUSALEM:
Hamas freed six Israelis on Saturday in the last scheduled release of living hostages by the militant group under the current stage of a ceasefire agreement with Israel.
In all, a total of 33 Israelis are being freed during this stage – including eight who are dead. Five Thai hostages have also been freed separately. Sixty-three hostages, including the body of a soldier held since 2014, remain in Gaza.
The remains of four Israeli hostages have been returned in a transfer that was marred when Hamas handed over the wrong body for Shiri Bibas, an Israeli mother of two young boys abducted by militants. After a tense standoff, her remains were returned and identified early Saturday.
The final four sets of remains are expected to be returned in the coming days.
Hamas-led militants abducted 251 people in its Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered the war. More than 48,000 Palestinians in Gaza, mostly women and children, have been killed in the ensuing conflict, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants.
Israel is releasing nearly 2,000 prisoners and detainees during the first phase of the ceasefire in exchange for the hostages.
Here are details on the hostages taken on Oct. 7, 2023:
Total captured: 251
Hostages released in exchanges or other deals: 141, of whom 4 were dead
Hostages still in captivity: 62, of whom Israel has declared 35 to be dead
Hostages in captivity who are soldiers: 13, of whom Israel has declared 7 to be dead
Bodies of hostages retrieved by Israeli troops: 40
Hostages rescued alive: 8
Non-Israelis still in captivity: 5 ( 3 Thais, 1 Nepalese, 1 Tanzanian), of whom 2 (1 Thai and 1 Nepalese) are believed to still be alive
Separately:
Hostages released who were held before Oct. 7, 2023: 2
Meanwhile, Israel retrieved the body of one soldier held in Gaza since he was killed in the 2014 Israel-Hamas war. The body of a second soldier killed in 2014 remains in Gaza.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)