Today Hamas released all 20 remaining living hostages held in Gaza as a part of a ceasefire deal.
The lads have returned to Israel, where they’re being reunited with their families and undergoing medical checks.
The remaining 28 bodies hostages are also expected to be handed over today.
Meanwhile, a convoy of vehicles left Ofer Prison in Israel for the occupied West Bank, carrying a number of the 250 long-term Palestinian prisoners also set to be freed.
The exchange comes at the top of two years of conflict that has seen Israel kill greater than 60,000 Palestinians, and pummel the territory, reportedly leaving just 10% of homes standing.
The primary photos of the Israeli hostages released today showed some had lost weight, but overall they looked less gaunt than a number of the hostages freed in January.
While major questions remain in regards to the way forward for Hamas and Gaza, the exchange of hostages and prisoners has raised hopes that it marks the top of the deadliest war ever between Israel and the militant group.
Here we take a have a look at a number of the 20 men taken through the Hamas attacks on October 7 and released today, including how they appear before they were kidnapped and after being let out.
The before photos are all on the left
Ziv and Gal Berman
Israeli-German twin brothers Ziv and Gali Berman – each lighting technicians – were abducted minutes aside from Kibbutz Kfar Aza, reports The Jerusalem Post.
Gali was taken from the house of former hostage Emily Damari, after he heard of the invasion and ran to guard her, armed with a kitchen knife.
Soon after, Hamas set fire to Ziv’s home forcing him to flee from his protected rooms, at which point he was caught, in response to the Post.
Their family learnt the pair were alive in February, but testimonies from released hostages claimed they were being kept individually.
The boys’ mother has described Ziv as someone who ‘loves the high life’ but works hard, while Gal is understood for ‘charm that melts hearts’, curiosity, determination and a capability to repair anything, reports The Sunday Times.
Eitan Abraham Mor
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Eitan Mor, 25, was working as a security guard at Nova Music Festival, when he was taken.
His family had been unaware he had been there, until his uncle received a text from him saying he was hiding from terrorists.
He was last seen helping festival-goers attempt to escape Hamas.
It was first confirmed Eitan was still alive in March 2024 and again in February 2025, when released hostages provided updates.
His parents Efrat and Tzvika Mor have previously credited their son’s survival to his ‘incredible social skills’ he used to grow to be ‘the spokesman’ for the hostages to Hamas.
Previously released hostage reportedly told the parents that he had lifted the spirits of three men he was held with in a tunnel.
Alon Ohel
Alon Ohel, 23, was a student on the Hebrew University of Jerusalem when he was kidnapped from the Nova Music Festival.
There was concern after a Hamas video released in September showed the German-Serbian-Israeli national in apparent poor health.
Released hostages have also said he lost vision in one in all his eyes and had suffered shrapnel wounds on the day he was taken.
They said he had been kept in tunnels for several months and was severely malnourished, reports the Jerusalem Post.
Bar Abraham Kupershtein
Bar Abraham Kupershtein was working at Nova Music Festival on the time of the attack.
His family said he had been evacuating the wounded and had returned to the location for a fourth time to assist more people when he was abducted.
‘He was the one who evacuated the wounded under fire to save lots of lives on the Nova party. He was the one who went back time and again, just to save lots of another person,’ Bar’s brother told the Knesset committee in February.
‘However the moment he needed help, there was nobody there to save lots of him.”
Released hostages confirmed Bar, a paramedic, he was still alive earlier this yr.
Friends described him as someone you can trust in addition to funny, strong and brave on the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.
Avinatan Or
Avinatan Or, 32, is the partner of hostage Noa Argamani, who was rescued alongside three other hostages in June 2024 from the Nuseirat refugee camp.
The pair were abducted after spending hours hiding in a ditch at Nova Music Festival.
Or, an electrical engineer, reportedly had the chance to flee but didn’t want to go away his girlfriend behind.
His family has received several signs he was alive throughout the captivity.
Omri Miran
Omri Miran was taken by Hamas in front of his wife and two children from his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz.
That they had reportedly been hiding in a protected room, when a neighbour held at gunpoint begged them to return out. Only Omri was kidnapped, along with his family left behind.
The Hungarian-Israeli appeared in a Hamas video in April and released hostages confirmed he was in good health.
Omri is a shiatsu therapist and a gardener, in response to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.
Yosef-Chaim Ohana
Yosef-Chaim Ohana, 24, was abducted from Nova Music Festival, where he and his friends were reportedly celebrating his move to the US to start out a piloting course.
It’s said they’d the prospect to flee but stayed to assist the wounded, with Yosef-Chaim using the talents he’d learnt as a medic within the Givati Brigade.
His family confirmed in February that they heard he was alive and Hamas later released a video of him in May with fellow hostage Elkana Bohbot.
Evyatar David
Evyatar David was at Nova Music Festival with three friends, when the attack occurred.
Two of his friends were killed on the festival while the opposite, Guy Gilboa-Dalal, was also taken and is one in all the 20 freed today.
Evyatar, 22 on the time, had stayed behind on the festival to assist the wounded, his cousin Jonathan Guttman told NBC news.
Released hostages had described the conditions the 2 men had been kept in as ‘horrific’.
Ariel and David Cunio
Ariel Cunio, who had just finished a pc studies degree, was taken along along with his partner Arbel Yehoud from the Kibbutz Nir Oz.
His brother David Cunio was abducted from the identical kibbutz alongside David’s wife Sharon Aloni Cunio, and their then-three-year-old twin daughters, Yuli and Emma, sister-in-law Danielle Aloni and her then-five-year-old daughter.
The ladies and kids were released in November 2023.
Before Ariel was kidnapped he had enough time to text one in all his three brothers that he felt he was in a ‘horror movie’.
Each David and Ariel were born and raised in Israel, entered the military, and dedicated their lives to the Kibbutz.
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