Fate of 64 Gaza hostages unknown

PARIS, France (AFP) — When Hamas militants staged the worst-ever attack on Israel, they took back into the Gaza Strip 251 hostages, some of them already dead.

A year later, 64 people, including two children, are still in captivity and Israel believes they are alive.

For the Palestinian militant group that rules the Gaza Strip, the hostages are key bargaining chips to negotiate a truce with Israel and seek the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.

Here is what we know about the hostages still held in Gaza.

52 men, 10 women, two children

Of the 251 hostages seized by militants on 7 October 2023, 117 have been freed, most of them women, children and foreign workers.

Most were released during a week-long truce in late November in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.

Nearly a year later, Israel believes 64 hostages still held in Gaza are alive.

The army has confirmed 70 others are dead, 33 of whose bodies are still in Gaza.

The military has repatriated the bodies of 37 hostages who either died in Gaza or were killed on 7 October and taken to the territory.

Of the 64 thought to be alive, 57 are Israelis, though some of them have more than one nationality. Another six are Thai nationals and one is Nepalese.

Fifty-two are men and 10 are women. Eleven are military personnel.

Two are children.

The youngest hostage, Kfir, was just eight-and-a-half months old when he was kidnapped. The other is his brother Ariel, who was only four years old when he was taken to Gaza.

Hamas has said the two children are dead, but Israel has not confirmed this.