A look at the hostages whose remains are still inside Gaza

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) – Hamas freed the last 20 living hostages taken during its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Hamas has returned the remains of nine hostages, but the process of returning the bodies of the last 19, as called for in the ceasefire agreement, has stalled.

Hamas says it hasn’t been able to reach all of the remains because they are buried under rubble left behind by Israel’s two-year offensive in the Gaza Strip. Israel has accused the militants of dragging their feet and threatened to resume military operations if all of the remains aren’t returned.

Here’s a look at the hostages whose remains haven’t been returned.

Tamir Adar was a farmer and third-generation member of kibbutz Nir Oz. He loved hiking and spending time in nature with his kids. Adar was a member of the kibbutz’s emergency first responder team and left his family in their home’s safe room to help defend the community when Hamas attacked.

In the last message he sent to his wife before he was killed in the attack, he wrote: “You don’t open for anyone, even if it’s me asking you to open.”

Adar’s grandmother, Yaffa Adar, 85, was kidnapped on Oct. 7, with militants driving her into Gaza on a golf cart, before being released in a ceasefire weeks later. Adar is survived by his wife and two children.

Sahar Baruch, from Kibbutz Be’eri, loved science, Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: The Gathering and fantasy books. He competed in chess competitions and was set to begin an electrical engineering degree when he was abducted. He previously served in the military as a mechanic. He and his brother, Idan, were at their mother’s house on Oct. 7. Idan was killed in the attack.

Three months into Sahar’s captivity, the Israeli military said he was killed during an attempted rescue mission. He is survived by his parents and two other siblings.

Itay Chen was an Israeli American who was abducted along with two other members of his tank battalion, Daniel Peretz, who also died, and Matan Angrest, who survived and was released from captivity on Monday. Chen loved basketball and studying human biology, according the Hostages Families Forum.

Originally from Netanya, in central Israel, Chen was killed on Oct. 7 and his body was taken to Gaza. His father, Ruby Chen, has met frequently with American leaders about getting all of the hostages returned to Israel, including the remains of the dead. Itay Chen is survived by his parents, two brothers, and a dog named Gucci.

Amiram Cooper was one of the founders of kibbutz Nir Oz, an economist and the author of three poetry books, according to the Hostages Families Forum. Cooper was abducted alive on Oct. 7 from Nir Oz along with his wife, Nurit, who was released after 17 days. Cooper was featured in a Hamas video, filmed under duress, with two other elderly hostages. In June 2024, Israel confirmed that Amiram had been killed. He leaves behind Nurit, three children and nine grandchildren.

Oz Daniel was an Israeli soldier who was killed on Oct. 7. His body was taken from his tank along with three others. He was a gifted guitarist who started playing at age 9. He practiced long hours even during his army service and dreamed of being a professional musician. His favorite band was Guns N’ Roses, according to the Hostages Families Forum. He is survived by his parents and twin sister.

Ronen Engel was born and raised in Tel Aviv but moved to kibbutz Nir Oz in 2010. He volunteered as a paramedic with Magen David Adom and crisscrossed Israel on his motorcycle. He was a talented photographer and loved renovating old junk. On Oct. 7, Engel was killed while attempting to protect his family. His wife, Karina, and two of his three children were kidnapped and released in a ceasefire the following month.

Meny Godard was a professional soccer player before enlisting in the Israeli military and serving in the 1973 Mideast War, according to Kibbutz Be’eri. He served in a variety of different positions in the kibbutz, including at its printing press.

On the morning of Oct. 7, Godard and his wife, Ayelet, were forced out of their home after it was set on fire. She hid in the bushes for a number of hours before militants discovered her and killed her. She was able to tell her children that Meny had been killed before she died. The family held a double funeral for the couple. They are survived by four children and six grandchildren.

Hadar Goldin’s remains are the only ones that have been held in Gaza since before the war. The Israeli soldier was killed on Aug. 1, 2014, two hours after a ceasefire took effect ending the that year’s war between Israel and Hamas. Based on evidence found in the tunnel where Goldin’s body was taken, including a blood-soaked shirt and prayer fringes, the military quickly determined that he had been killed in the attack.

Goldin is survived by his parents and three siblings, including a twin. He had proposed to his fiancée before he was killed. Earlier this year, Goldin’s family marked 4,000 days since his body was taken. The military retrieved the body of another soldier who was killed in the 2014 war earlier this year.

Ran Gvili, who served in an elite police unit, was recovering from a broken shoulder he sustained in a motorcycle accident but rushed to assist fellow officers on Oct. 7. After helping people escape from the Nova music festival, he was killed fighting at another location and his body was taken to Gaza. The military confirmed his death four months later. He is survived by his parents and a sister.

Tal Haimi, a fourth-generation resident of Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak, was a mechanical engineer, a camping enthusiast and a member of the emergency response team. He was killed on Oct. 7 while battling militants at the kibbutz’s entrance. He is survived by his father, his wife, Ela, and four children. His youngest child was born seven months after the attack.

Col. Assaf Hamami had been the commander of the Israeli military’s Southern Brigade since 2022. According to Israeli media, Hamami was the first person in the military to declare that Israel was at war, at 6:37 a.m. on Oct. 7, less than 10 minutes after the attack began. Hamami and two of his soldiers were killed and their bodies were taken to Gaza. The other two soldiers’ remains were retrieved in July 2024. Hamami is survived by his wife and three children.

Eliyahu Margalit managed the cattle farm and horse stables at kibbutz Nir Oz for many years and was a “cowboy at heart,” according to the Hostages Families Forum. Margalit was abducted from the stable as he was feeding the horses on the morning of Oct. 7. His daughter, Nili Margalit, was abducted and released during a November 2023 ceasefire.

Joshua Mollel was a Tanzanian agricultural student who arrived at kibbutz Nahal Oz only 19 days before Oct. 7. He had finished agricultural college in Tanzania and hoped to gain experience in Israel he could apply at home. Two smaller Palestinian militant groups posted graphic footage on social media showing their fighters stabbing and shooting Mollel, according to a Human Rights Watch report. He is survived by two parents and four siblings in Tanzania.

Israeli American Omer Neutra was born and raised on Long Island, New York. He moved to Israel to enlist in the army as a volunteer. Omer played soccer, basketball, and volleyball, and captained several teams at his school. He was abducted with the rest of his tank crew.

In December 2024, the military announced that Omer had been killed in the Oct. 7 attack. Neutra’s parents were a regular presence at protests in the U.S. and Israel, and addressed the Republican National Convention last year.

Dror Or was a father of three who managed the dairy farm on Kibbutz Be’eri and was an expert cheesemaker. On Oct. 7, the family was hiding in their safe room when militants lit the house on fire. Dror and his wife, Yonat, were killed. Two of their children were abducted and released during the November 2023 ceasefire.

Sonthaya Oakkharasri was an agricultural worker from Thailand who had been employed at Kibbutz Be’eri. He is survived by a 7-year-old daughter. A total of 31 workers from Thailand were kidnapped on Oct. 7, the largest group of foreigners to be held in captivity. Prior to Oct. 7, about 30,000 people from Thailand worked in Israel, the vast majority in farming. The area around the Gaza Strip is a rich agricultural zone for Israel that employs many foreign workers.

Sudthisak Rinthalak was an agricultural worker from Thailand who had been employed at Kibbutz Be’eri. According to the media, Rinthalak was divorced and had been working in Israel since 2017. Rinthalak was one of three Thai hostages whose bodies were held in Gaza. Israeli troops recovered the body of Nattapong Pinta in June. The Thai Foreign Ministry has said 46 Thais have been killed during the war in addition to the three Thai hostages.

Lior Rudaeff was born in Argentina and moved to Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak at age 7. He volunteered for more than 40 years as an ambulance driver and was a member of the community’s emergency response team. He was killed while battling militants on the morning of Oct. 7 and his body was brought to Gaza. Rudaeff is survived by four children and three grandchildren.

Arie Zalmanovich moved to kibbutz Nir Oz with friends in the early days of the kibbutz, where he worked in agriculture and specialized in growing wheat. Zalmanovich died about five weeks into captivity in Gaza, according to a hostage who was held with him. He had two sons and five grandchildren.