Image source, Hostages and Missing Families Forum

Of the six living hostages due for release today, four of them were captured during the attack by Hamas against Israel on 7 October 2023. The other two hostages have been held in Gaza for a decade.

The six are:

Eliya Cohen: 27 years old, he and and his girlfriend initially hid from the Hamas attackers on 7 October in a shelter, but he was discovered, and driven away. In June, Hamas footage was released showing the moment Eliya and others were taken prisoner.

Omer Shem Tov: 22 years old, he initially made a getaway in his car but was captured when he tried to rescue his friends, Maya and Itai Regev. All three were taken captive – the Regev siblings were released in November 2023, but they say they had been with Omer in captivity.

Tal Shoham: 40 years old, he was taken from Kibbutz Be’eri. His wife, Adi, their two young children, and his mother-in-law, Dr Shosham Haran, were also captured but released in November 2023. Dr Haran’s husband, Avshalom, was killed during the 7 October attack.

Omer Wenkert: A 23 restaurant manager. He sent a message to his family to say he was going to a safe shelter but then lost contact with them. His family say they saw Hamas video footage of Omer, including a photo of him handcuffed and wearing only underwear.

Hisham al-Sayed: A Bedouin Arab Israeli who has been held in Gaza since 2015. Hamas say he and Avera Mengistu are soldiers, but Israeli documents seen by Human Rights Watch show that both are civilians who were exempted from military service. Both crossed into Gaza on their own. In June 2022 Hamas released a video showing al-Sayed in captivity.

Avera Mengistu: An Ethiopian-Israeli, Mengistu was captured by Hamas in 2014. In January Hamas released a short undated video clip of a man who mumbled in Hebrew: “I am the captive Avera Mengistu. For how much longer will I remain in captivity with my friends.” The Mengistu family confirmed his identity, the Free Avera campaign told the BBC in 2023.