Hamas attack on Israel: Hostage status 1 year later
Monday marks one year since Hamas launched a surprise attack into Israel, launching the Gaza area deeper into conflict.
In its attack on Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas killed some 1,200 people — most of them civilians, according to Israeli authorities.
The attack sparked a war that has killed more than 41,000 Palestinians, over half of them women and children, according to health officials in Gaza. It does not say how many were fighters, but says a little over half of the deceased were women and children.
On that day, Hamas also kidnapped roughly 250 people, including women, children and older adults.
How many hostages remain in Gaza?
FILE - Demonstrators hold milk cartons with photos of kidnapped Israelis during a rally in Central Park marking 150 days since hostages were taken in attack on Israel on March 10, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images)
Of the 250 Israeli hostages taken on Oct. 7, 2023, nearly 100 remain in Gaza, with fewer than 70 believed to be alive, according to The Associated Press.
Of the hostages remaining, four are reportedly Americans.
RELATED: What happened on Oct. 7? Timeline of Hamas attack, one year later
4 Americans hostage in Gaza
The Washington Post reports four Americans are still being held hostage by Hamas:
- Edan Alexander, 20
- Sagui Dekel-Chen, 36
- Omer Neutra, 22
- Keith Siegel, 65
Alexander graduated from Tenafly High in New Jersey and was working as an Israeli soldier, stationed near Gaza, when he was taken hostage, his family told NorthJersey.com.
Dekel-Chen is an American citizen, father to three, and was living on an Israeli kibbutz, Nir Oz, when he was taken, his family told Slate.
Neutra grew up in Plainview, New York, on Long Island, his family shared in a GoFundMe post, and was serving in the Israel Defense Force (IDF) during a gap year when he was taken hostage.
Siegel moved from North Carolina to Israel 40 years ago and worked as an occupational therapist, according to the American Jewish Committee. He was taken from a different kibbutz, Kfar Aza, alongside his wife, Aviva, 62, on Oct. 7. Aviva was released as part of the first temporary cease-fire deal in November.
When did Hamas release hostages?
A temporary, week-long ceasefire took place in November 2023 - the first and only deal reached between Israel and Hamas in the last year. During that time, Hamas released more than 100 hostages in an exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners.
The hostages released then by Hamas included 81 Israeli citizens and 24 nationals, most of them Thais working mostly as laborers in the agricultural sector.
Four female hostages were released prior to this cease-fire through deals brokered by the U.S. and other mediators, The Associated Press reported.
Since then, Israel says it has recovered the bodies of several other hostages. Most recently, Israel publicized the recovery of six bodies in September 2024, which included 23-year-old Hersh Goldberg-Polin, a native of Berkeley, California, who was taken hostage while attending a music festival on the day of the attack.
RELATED: Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Israeli-American hostage, found dead in Gaza
How many Palestinians are being held in Israel?
It’s unclear how many Palestinians are in Israeli custody, but most reports estimate it to be several thousand.
In December 2023, NPR spoke with The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories about how Israel has detained thousands of Palestinians for years.
The group’s spokesperson estimated 7,000 Palestinians were in Israeli prisons, with several thousand being held for crimes without a trial or conviction.
On April 17, 2024, Al Jazeera reported that a human rights organization in the area estimated that 9,500 Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank were in Israeli captivity.
A U.N. human rights office issued a report in July 2024 that said Israel’s prison service held more than 9,400 "security detainees" as of the end of June, and that some have been held in secret without access to lawyers or respect for their legal rights.
RELATED: Palestinian "tent life" TikTok star Medo Halimy dies in Israeli air strike
Israel war latest
Israel vows 'severe' retaliation for Iran attack
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran would pay for its missile attack against Israel. Israel called Iran's attack a 'sever escalation.' Behnam Ben Taleblu, Senior fellow at Foundation for Defense of Democracies, joins LiveNOW from FOX's Josh Breslow to discuss the latest.
Talks of another ceasefire between Israel and Hamas have failed over the months, with Hamas demanding an end to the war and a full withdrawal of all Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip.
Meanwhile, Israel has intensified in recent days its bombardment of northern Gaza and southern Lebanon in a widening war with Iran-allied militant groups across the region, including Hezbollah.
Israel has also vowed to strike Iran after a ballistic missile attack on Israel last week.
Iran-allied militant groups in Syria, Iraq and Yemen have joined in with long-distance strikes on Israel.
Israel’s widening conflict risks further drawing in the United States, which has provided crucial military and diplomatic support to Israel.