The bodies of 29 hostages, including four foreign nationals, were still in the Gaza Strip at the start of the October deal.

A total of 168 hostages were returned alive: eight were rescued, [b] five were released outside of ceasefires, and the rest were released in ceasefires during the Gaza war.

On 13 October 2025, with the implementation of the Gaza peace plan, Hamas released the last 20 living hostages as well as four out of the 28 deceased hostages held in Gaza, in exchange for around 1,900 Palestinian prisoners. [179][180] The caskets holding the bodies were handed over to the IDF by the Red Cross during a ceremony in Gaza and were ...

More than two years after Hamas and its allies kidnapped 251 people from Israel and took them to Gaza, 47 hostages remain in the enclave, with at least 20 believed to be alive.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he believes that there are still 20 living hostages held in Gaza, insisting that Israel is committed to releasing both the living and the dead, speaking...

Are there any hostages still held in Gaza? No. As of January 26, 2026, no Israeli hostages remain in the Gaza Strip.

How many hostages are still in Gaza? According to the BBC, an estimated 48 hostages are still believed to be held in Gaza, only 20 of whom are thought to be alive.

Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 hostages in the Oct. 7 attack.

Two years after Hamas' Oct. 7 terror attack on Israel unleashed the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, 48 hostages -- including 26 publicly confirmed dead-- remain in Gaza. Twenty hostages are thought to still be alive, according to the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office.

Under the plan, Hamas would release the remaining 48 hostages — around 20 of them believed to be alive — within three days. It would also give up power and disarm.