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palestinian Militants have so far released the remains of 15 hostages who were held in Gaza for the last two years under the ceasefire agreement with Israel-Hamas war. But the process of returning the bodies of the remaining 13 hostages, as called for under the ceasefire agreement, has progressed slowly as militants release only one or two bodies every few days.
Hamas says it has not been able to access all the remains because they are buried under debris left by Israel’s two-year offensive in the Gaza Strip. israel has accused the militants of retreating and threatened to resume military operations or halt humanitarian aid if all remains were not returned.
Hamas last week freed the last 20 surviving hostages taken during an October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
In return, Israel has so far returned the bodies of 165 Palestinians to Gaza. Israel provided no details about their identities, and it is unclear whether they were Israelis killed during the October 7 attack, Palestinian captives who died in Israeli custody, or bodies taken from Gaza by Israeli troops during the war. Gaza’s health ministry has struggled to identify bodies without access to DNA kits.
Here’s a look at the hostages whose remains have not been returned.
Sahar Baruch, 25
Sahar Baruch of Kibbutz Berry loved science, Dungeons and Dragons, the card game Magic: The Gathering, and fantasy books. He participated in chess competitions and was about to start an electrical engineering degree when he was kidnapped. He had previously worked as a mechanic in the army. He and his brother Idan were at their mother’s house on October 7. Idan was killed in the attack.
After Sahar was held captive for three months, the Israeli military said he was killed during a rescue operation. He is survived by his parents and two other siblings.
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My father Chen was Israeli American Originally from Netanya in central Israel, he was kidnapped along with two other members of his tank battalion: Daniel Peretz, who also died, and Matan Angrest, who survived and was released from captivity on Monday. According to the Hostages Families Forum, Chen loved basketball and studying human biology.
Chen was assassinated on 7 October and his body was taken to Gaza. His father, Ruby Chen, has been meeting frequently with American leaders to return all the hostages, including the remains of the dead, to Israel. Itay Chen is survived by his parents and two brothers.
Amiram Cooper, 84
According to the Hostage Families Forum, Amiram Cooper was one of the founders of Kibbutz Nir Oz, an economist and the author of three poetry books. Cooper was kidnapped alive from Nir Oz on 7 October along with his wife Nurit, who was released after 17 days. Cooper was shown with two other elderly hostages in a Hamas video filmed under duress. In June 2024, Israel confirmed that Amiram was killed. He leaves behind Nurit, three children and nine grandchildren.
Oz Daniels, 19
Oz Daniel was an Israeli soldier who was killed on 7 October. His body was taken from his tank along with three others. He was a talented guitarist who started playing guitar at the age of 9. He practiced for long hours even during his army service and dreamed of becoming a professional musician. According to the Hostages Families Forum, her favorite band was Guns N’ Roses. He is survived by his parents and twin sister.
Minoo Goddard, 73
According to Kibbutz Berry, Menny Goddard was a professional soccer player before enlisting in the Israeli army and serving in the 1973 Mideast War. He held various positions in the kibbutz, including running its printing press.
On the morning of October 7, Goddard and his wife, Ayelet, were evacuated after their home caught fire. She hid in the bushes for several hours before the militants found and killed her. She was able to tell her children that Menni had been killed before she died. The family held a double funeral for the couple. His four children and six grandchildren survive.
Hadar Goldin, 23
Hadar Goldin’s remains are the only remains preserved in Gaza before the war. The Israeli soldier was killed on August 1, 2014, two hours after a ceasefire came into effect to end that year’s war between Israel and Hamas. Based on evidence found in the tunnel where Goldin’s body had been taken, including a blood-soaked shirt and prayer rugs, the Army immediately determined that he had been killed in the attack.
Goldin is survived by her parents and three siblings, including a twin brother. Before he was killed he had proposed to his fiancée. Earlier this year, Goldin’s family marked 4,000 days since his body was transported. The army earlier this year recovered the body of another soldier killed in the 2014 war.
Ran Gvili, 24
Ran Gwili, who served in an elite police unit, was recovering from a broken shoulder in a motorcycle accident, but ran to the aid of 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 army confirmed his death four months later. He is survived by his parents and a sister.
Assaf Hamami, 41
Colonel Assaf Hamami was the commander of the Southern Brigade of the Israeli Army since 2022. According to Israeli media, Hamami was the first person in the military to announce that Israel was at war at 6:37 am on October 7, less than 10 minutes after the attacks began. Hamami and two of his soldiers were killed and their bodies were taken to Gaza. The remains of the other two soldiers were recovered in July 2024. Hamami is survived by his wife and three children.
Joshua Loitu Molele, 21
Joshua Mollel was a Tanzanian agriculture student who arrived at Kibbutz Nahal Oz just 19 days before October 7. He had completed agricultural college in Tanzania and hoped to gain experience in Israel to apply back home. Two Small Palestinian militant groups posted graphic footage on social media showing their fighters stabbing and shooting Mollel, Human Rights Watch reported. He is survived by his two parents and four siblings in Tanzania.
Omar Neutra, 21
Israeli American Omer Neutra was born and raised in Long Island, New York. He moved to Israel to join the army as a volunteer. Omar played football, basketball and volleyball and captained several teams in his school. He was kidnapped along with the rest of the tank crew.
In December 2024, the army announced that Omar had been killed in the 7 October attack. Neutra’s parents were regular attendees of protests in the US and Israel, and they addressed the Republican National Convention last year.
Dror or, 52
Dror Orr was a father of three who managed a dairy farm on Kibbutz Berry and was an expert cheese maker. On 7 October, the family was hiding in their safe room when terrorists set the house on fire. Dror and his wife Yonat were killed. His two children were abducted and released during the November 2023 ceasefire.
Sudthisak Rinthalak
Sudthisak Rinthalak was a farm worker from Thailand who worked at Kibbutz Berry. According to media reports, Rinthalak was divorced and had been working in Israel since 2017. A total of 31 workers from Thailand were kidnapped on October 7, the largest group of foreigners to be held in captivity. Most of them were released in the first and second armistices. Rinthalak is the last of three Thai hostages whose bodies were kept in Gaza. The Thai Foreign Ministry has said that in addition to the hostages, 46 Thais have been killed during the battle.
Lior Rudeff, 61
Lior Rudeff was born in Argentina and moved to Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak at the age of 7. He volunteered as an ambulance driver for more than 40 years and was a member of the community’s emergency response team. He was killed fighting terrorists on the morning of 7 October and his body was brought to Gaza. Rudeff has four children and three grandchildren.
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