Great-grandmothers and two-year-old girl among 24 hostages released by Hamas
Great-grandmothers and a two-year-old child were among the 24 hostages released by Hamas on Friday in the first wave of a multi-day deal.
Their release is part of a high-stakes agreement to free those kidnapped on Oct 7 by the terror group in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners.
The first of the hostages to be freed by Hamas after 49 days in captivity included 13 Israelis - including four children - as well as 10 Thai nationals and one Filipino.
More hostages are expected to be released in the coming days as part of a deal, including on Saturday.
Danielle and Amelia Aloni
Ages: 44 and five
Single mother Danielle Aloni pleaded with Benjamin Netanyahu to “free all of us” in a chilling hostage video released last month by Hamas.
Ms Aloni and her five-year-old daughter were kidnapped while they were visiting her twin sister Sharon Cunio in kibbutz Nir Oz on 7 Oct.
The family - including Mrs Cunio’s husband, David, and their three-year-old daughters, Emma and Julia - had initially been hiding in a bomb shelter, but they were forced to flee when terrorists set fire to their home.
Ms Aloni’s family had not had any confirmation they were alive until Hamas shared a video that showed Ms Aloni sitting on plastic chairs between two other hostages.
In the 76-second clip she said: “Let their citizens go, let their prisoners go. Free us. Free all of us. Let us return to our families now.”
Doron Katz-Asher, Raz Asher and Aviv Asher
Ages: 34, four, two
Yoni Asher only found out his wife and two small daughters had been abducted when he saw a video of them being loaded on to a pickup truck with other hostages by terrorists.
Doron Katz-Asher and the girls were kidnapped by Hamas while visiting her mother when terrorists stormed kibbutz Nir Or.
They had been hiding in the sealed room with Mrs Katz-Asher’s mother, Efrat Katz, and her partner, Gadi Moses.
Mr Asher, who described his daughters as his “flowers”, said his wife had messaged him saying she heard terrorists entering the house and gunfire. Mr Moses left the room and was taken by the terrorists.
Mr Asher later traced his wife’s phone to a location in Gaza, before finding a video of his family being driven away. He later found out his mother-in-law had been killed.
“I am happy I received my family back, it’s allowed to feel joy and it’s allowed to shed a tear. That’s a human thing,” Mr Asher said after his wife and children were freed on Friday.
“But I am not celebrating, I will not celebrate until the last of the hostages returns home.”
Adina Moshe
Age: 72
Ainda Moshe watched terrorists shoot her husband David dead before they pulled her through the window of her home’s safe room to abduct her.
She had been holding the handle of the door of the sealed room they had been hiding in to try to keep terrorists out. But Hamas terrorists shot at the window repeatedly until they got in. They then murdered Mrs Moshe’s husband.
Mrs Moshe was then dragged through the window and later footage showed her sitting in a red T-shirt next in between two terrorists.
Mrs Moshe had always said if terrorists came into her house she would make coffee and put out some cookies.
Ruthi Munder, Keren Munder and Ohad Munder
Ages: 78, 54 and nine
Three generations of the Munder family had been spending the Simchat Torah holiday together in kibbutz Nir Oz when they woke up to the sound of explosions and sirens.
Ms Munder sent a message to her partner Avi at 7.24am saying she had heard gunshots and thought terrorists had infiltrated the kibbutz.
She, her son Ohad and her parents Ruthi and Avraham were hiding in the shelter and had only been leaving to use the lavatory. All four of them were kidnapped by Hamas. Ohad turned nine while in captivity in Gaza.
Roni Haviv, a relative of Ohad, said she was looking forward to giving the nine-year-old his favourite toy.
“I’m waiting to see Ohad and can’t wait to give him his Rubik’s Cube, which I know he really loved and he probably missed it so much and that’s the first thing he takes everywhere he goes,” she told Reuters.
Hannah Perry
Age: 79
Hannah Perry was on the phone to her daughter Ayelet Svatitzky, 46, when terrorists stormed her home.
Mrs Svatitzky could hear the gunmen shouting orders before the phone line went dead.
Seconds later she received pictures of elderly mother and brother with the terrorists alongside the message: “Hamas”.
The pictures showed Mrs Perry sitting with her son, Nadav Popplewell, 51, in her living room in kibbutz Nirim, under armed guard.
Mrs Perry’s other son, Roi, was shot dead behind his house in another neighbourhood.
Mrs Perry, who has diabetes, had immigrated to Israel from South Africa in the 1960s.
Hanna Katzir
Age: 77
Hanna Katzir, a mother of three and grandmother of six, was abducted from her home in the kibbutz she had helped start.
Her husband of 55 years, Avraham Katzir, was murdered by Hamas during the 7 Oct attack.
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad had several days ago claimed Mrs Katzir was killed in an Israeli attack.
Islamic Jihad said on a Telegram Mrs Katzir had died. They wrote the group had wanted to release her “but the enemy was stalling and this led to her death”.
Yaffa Ader
Age: 85
Yaffa Ader’s family discovered she had been abducted from her home when video of her wrapped in a pink blanket, surrounded by armed terrorists, emerged.
They had feared the great grandmother, who was described by her granddaughter as the “glue” of the family, didn’t have access to her medication for blood pressure or chronic pain.
Mrs Ader’s grandson Tamir, 38, was also was also captured by Hamas after he attempted to defend the kibbutz as part of the Nir Oz emergency squad.
“She was really the glue of our family. She loved her life,” her granddaughter Adva Adar said. “She liked good food and she liked good wine. She was very young-minded.”
Margalit Mozes
Age: 78
Cancer patient Margalit Moses was kidnapped from her home on kibbutz Nir Oz.
Her family said she has health problems that require almost constant medical care.
A nature lover and adventurer, Mrs Moses loves to travel. Last year she visited Norway and this winter had planned to travel to Mozambique.
Thai captives
Thai authorities confirmed early on Saturday that 10 Thais and one Filipino were released, sharing three photos of the group receiving health checkups at the Shamir Medical Center in Be’er Ya’akov.
The images show 10 men in khaki jackets alongside one woman, who had been taken hostage when Hamas attacked on October 7.
The southeast Asians had been agricultural workers close to the border with Gaza – some 30,000 Thais work in Israel, able to earn far higher salaries than they would at home under an agreement between the two countries.
“This group will stay in the hospital for at least 48 hours, while RTE will make all the necessary arrangements for their travel back to Thailand and their families as soon as possible,” the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
“We sincerely hope that the remaining hostages will be treated humanely and released safely as soon as possible.”
The statement added that authorities had not known that four of the 10 hostages released were being held, meaning 30 Thais nationals were taken in total – up from the 26 previously confirmed.
