Who Are The Israelis Released On The First Day Of The Ceasefire?

Then the phone shut off. Israeli authorities identified her phone’s location in Gaza.

Former hostage Romi Gonen meets with her mother

Over the past 15 months, Merav Gonen has been one of the most outspoken voices advocating for the return of the hostages, appearing nearly daily on Israeli news programs and traveling abroad on missions.

“We are doing everything we can so the world will not forget,” she told The Associated Press on the six-month anniversary of Hamas’ attack. “Every day we wake up and take a big breath, deep breath, and continue walking, continue doing the things that will bring her back.”

Emily Damari, 28

Emily Damari is a British-Israeli citizen kidnapped from her apartment on Kibbutz Kfar Aza, a communal farming village hit hard by Hamas’ assault. She lived in a small apartment in a neighborhood for young adults, the closest part of the kibbutz to Gaza. Militants broke through the border fence of the kibbutz and ransacked the neighborhood.

This undated photo, provided by Hostage’s Family Forum, shows Israeli hostage Emily Damari, who is being held in Gaza by Hamas militants. (Hostage’s Family Forum via AP)

Damari’s mother, Mandy, said she loves music, traveling, soccer, good food, karaoke and hats. Kibbutz Kfar Aza said that Damari was often the “glue that held her close-knit friend group together” and she was always organizing gatherings of friends around the best barbecue corner in the entire kibbutz.

Former hostage Emily Damari and her mother reunite at an IDF facility in southern Israel. According to Damari’s family, Emily lost two fingers after being shot by Hamas terrorists during the October 7 onslaught.

On Sunday, Mandy released a statement of thanks for supporters “who never stopped saying her name.”

“After 471 days Emily is finally home,” she said.

Doron Steinbrecher, 31

Doron Steinbrecher is a veterinary nurse who loves animals, and a neighbor to Damari in Kibbutz Kfar Aza. Steinbrecher holds both Israeli and Romanian citizenship.

At 10:20 a.m. on Oct. 7, 2023, Steinbrecher called her mother. “Mom, I’m scared. I’m hiding under the bed and I hear them trying to enter my apartment,” her brother, Dor, recalled. She was able to send a voice message to her friends. “They’ve got me! They’ve got me! They’ve got me!” in the moments of her abduction.

This undated photo provided by Hostage’s Family Forum shows Israeli hostage Doron Steinbrecher, who is being held in Gaza by Hamas militants. (Hostage’s Family Forum via AP)

That message was key in helping her family understand that Doron had been kidnapped.

Steinbrecher was featured in a video released by Hamas on Jan. 26, 2024, along with two female Israeli soldiers. Her brother said the video gave them hope that she was alive but sparked concern because she looked tired, weak, and gaunt.

Former hostage Doron Steinbrecher meets her mother after 471 days in Hamas captivity.

In total, militants killed 64 people and 22 soldiers, and kidnapped 19 people from Kibbutz Kfar Aza on Oct. 7. With the return of Steinbrecher and Damari, there are still three members of the kibbutz held in Gaza: American-Israeli Keith Siegel, 65, and twins Gali and Ziv Berman, 27.

Remains of Oron Shaul, 20

Oron Shaul was a soldier killed on July 20, 2014, during fighting between Israel and Hamas. His body and that of another soldier, Hadar Goldin, had been held by militants since then despite a public campaign to return them by their families.

This undated photo, provided by Hostage’s Family Forum, shows Israeli soldier Oron Shaul, who was killed during the 2014 war and whose body has been held by Hamas until Israeli soldiers recovered his body on January 19, 2025. (Hostage’s Family Forum via AP)

The Hostages Families Forum, which represents relatives of the captives, called the Shaul family an “inseparable part” of the group.

Militants still hold the bodies of Goldin as well as two Israelis who crossed into Gaza in 2014 and 2015 on their own.

(AP)