On Oct. 13, 2025, soon after the two-year mark of the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel, all 20 of the remaining living hostages were officially released, while 28 bodies still remained missing.
On Oct. 7, 2023, the deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust occurred. On top of the thousands of Israelis who were murdered, 251 were taken hostage in Gaza. Throughout the past two years, most of the hostages were held in Gaza by Hamas, a terrorist group. Due to the chaos on Oct. 7, 2023, many Israelis were taken or murdered, but their location remained unknown. As of Oct. 7, 2025, 140 of the hostages had been released, rescued, or found, both dead and alive, with 48 still remaining in captivity for exactly two years. This information quickly changed when after months of negotiation, Hamas released the 20 living hostages on Oct. 13.
Two years wasn’t just the amount of time those 48 hostages were held captive for, but the amount of time they had been suffering. 13 days after the Oct. 7 attack, Israeli-American hostages Judith Raanan and Natalie Raanan were released. On Oct. 21 CNN reported that Judith Raanan had been suffering from poor health, leading to her need for treatment from the Red Cross. This was her condition after just 13 days. Many hostages were kept much longer than this.
While Hamas released little information about hostages during their captivity, individuals who have been freed continue to share details about their experiences. The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) gathered some information through intelligence and combat, but inferences were made through stories from former hostages. Though Hamas withheld information about hostages, The Times of Israel shared that on Sept. 20, 2025, Hamas published “a propaganda image of the remaining 48 hostages held in the Gaza Strip, labeling them all Ron Arad, an Israeli Air Force navigator who has been classified as missing since 1988.” The Jerusalem Post expanded on this by writing that “the terrorist organization said that ‘the fate of the hostages will be like Ron Arad.’” Meaning, Hamas was trying to send a message that the hostages would end up dead. Hamas may have been withholding information in the past two years, but they made statements that insinuated that the hostages would die. Now, after the release of 20 of the 48 hostages, it is clear that this was purely propaganda to scare families and friends.
Amid a sea of opinions and misinformation, the public’s understanding of the Israeli hostages’ situation relies heavily on statements from survivors. These firsthand accounts provide the most reliable information available. Both the hostages themselves and their loved ones continue to share their stories.
Former hostage Emily Damari’s (28-years-old) story was shared. The BBC reported that when she was dragged from her home in Southern Israel during Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack, she was shot, causing her to lose two fingers. The BBC further reported, “..an operation in Gaza had left her in ‘intense pain’ for a year and a half, and that a scar from an ‘open, festering wound’ did not heal for months due to the conditions in which she was held.” Damari said that the conditions they were being held in were “unimaginable”. After 471 days in captivity, she was released on Jan. 19, 2025. The American Jewish Committee (AJC) reported that she “endured severe conditions, including confinement in underground tunnels with little access to daylight, fresh air, or basic necessities.” Once released, Damari “expressed immense relief, saying, ‘I came back to life.’”
Agam Berger, 20, spent 482 days in Hamas captivity. The BBC also reported on her situation and stated, “Mr. Berger says his daughter, Agam, was threatened by her captors and witnessed physical abuse while in captivity.” Continuing, her dad shared that “sometimes they tortured other female hostages in front of her eyes.” On top of the torture and abuse, “Mr. Berger says his daughter told him how they were constantly watched over by armed men, ‘playing all the time with their guns and their hand grenades.’’’ Berger’s perspective gives insight to the experience that the hostages endured.
Ofir Engel, 19, refuses to be called a ‘hostage’ and prefers to see himself as a ‘captivity survivor.’ He spent 53 days in captivity, and ever since has been sharing his story. Argonaut News, a California news site, shared Engle’s words, “I may be safely home, but my nightmare continues.” Engle was held in captivity with his girlfriend’s father, Yossi, but they were separated in late November 2023. “Upon my release, I learned that after 97 days from that fateful morning, Yossi was killed in Gaza, which is where his body remains.”
Engel explained what happened when he was originally taken on Oct. 7. “They tied our hands behind our backs and made us watch them shred and burn the Israeli flag,” he said. “Their faces filled with glee. They then moved us through the kibbutz to another area outside where we sat side by side with a group of other residents, also with their hands tied and held at gunpoint.” He continued, “It felt like forever but it was only a few minutes.” Once they were taken into a house they were “paraded in front of dozens of Gazans to see [them] — like [they] were [animals] in a zoo.” During his captivity, he was told that “he would be dead soon” and that he would never see his family again. On camera, Engel was forced to say that he was being treated well and that the time he spent in captivity thus far was tolerable. After his release, he said that none of it was true.
As it has been about 80 years since the Holocaust, the amount of survivors to tell their stories are dwindling down. After Oct. 7 2023, a new generation of survivors of antisemitic crimes live to tell their stories. The Jewish people have yet to lose hope, as the hostages’ survival stories prove. After two years of prayers and fighting for the hostages, Israel has finally found a sense of peace. Even though every living hostage is home, there are still missing bodies, and important stories to be told. After all they suffered and endured, it is crucial to listen to what the hostages have to share.
