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Hamas released eight hostages, including three Israelis and five Thais, as part of a hostage-for-prisoner exchange.
- Jan. 30, 2025Updated 7:58 a.m. ET
Hamas released eight hostages, including three Israelis and five Thais, on Thursday as part of a hostage-for-prisoner exchange, more than a year after they were taken captive during the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Agam Berger, an Israeli army soldier, was released first in a highly choreographed ceremony in northern Gaza. A second hostage release in southern Gaza descended into chaos as crowds pushed forward to try to get a glimpse of them.
The hostage release is part of a 42-day cease-fire deal that went into effect this month, pausing the fighting between Israel and Hamas. Hamas agreed to incrementally release 33 of the nearly 100 remaining hostages in exchange for more than 1,000 Palestinians jailed by Israel and a partial Israeli withdrawal.
Here’s a closer look at the Israelis released on Thursday.
Agam Berger
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Ms. Berger was 19 and recently assigned as a lookout when Hamas-led militants stormed the Nahal Oz army base where she was working, killing more than 50 soldiers and abducting her and six other soldiers. Four of them were earlier released in an exchange on Saturday.
Ms. Berger’s mother, Meirav, said she last saw her daughter when they dropped her off at the base on Oct. 5, 2023, two days before the attack. According to a website created by her family, and her parents’ accounts in Israeli news media, Ms. Berger called her parents in the middle of the attack, using the phone of a friend who was killed next to her. She told them that she could hear shots being fired and that people were crying, but that she was not afraid, according to the website.
