As of today, six rounds of hostage and prisoner exchanges have been completed in the ongoing ceasefire deal with Gaza. There are still 14 Israeli hostages scheduled to be released in the first phase of the agreement.
In the days following the start of the truce, which began in January, families of several hostages slated for release expressed grave concerns after Hamas revealed that eight of the 33 hostages on the original list had died. Upon receiving this information, the families were informed by the military that Hamas’s claims aligned with prior assessments, raising serious worries about the hostages’ condition.
The individuals on the release list, set to be freed over the first 42 days of the ceasefire starting on January 19, are considered “humanitarian cases” — women, children, the elderly, and the infirm. According to the ceasefire terms, Hamas is required to provide the identities of the hostages 24 hours before each release, but recently, the terror group has not always adhered to this deadline.
As of February 15, 70 of the 251 hostages taken by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 34 individuals confirmed dead by the IDF.
The list of hostages remaining for release in phase one includes Shiri Silberman Bibas, 33, and her two young children, Ariel (5) and Kfir (2). Israel is reportedly pressuring mediators to confirm the status of Bibas and her sons. Hamas had previously claimed in November 2023 that the three were dead, but Israel denounced this claim as cruel and unverified, expressing deep concern for their fate.
The list of other hostages scheduled for release in the first stage includes five elderly men:

• Itzik Elgarat, 70
• Shlomo Mantzur, 86
• Ohad Yahalomi, 50
• Oded Lifshitz, 84
• Tsahi Idan, 50

Additionally, six younger men are set to be freed:

• Hisham al-Sayed, 36
• Omer Wenkert, 23
• Eliya Cohen, 27
• Avera Mengistu, 38
• Tal Shoham, 39
• Omer Shem-Tov, 22

Al-Sayed and Mengistu have been held in Gaza for over a decade after entering the Strip voluntarily. The others were abducted during the October 7 attacks in 2023.
To date, Hamas has released 24 hostages during the ceasefire, including 19 Israeli civilians and female soldiers, as well as five Thai nationals. Prior to this, in late November 2023, Hamas freed 105 civilians, and an additional four hostages were released before that.
Israel has agreed to release up to 1,904 Palestinian prisoners as part of the first phase of the deal in exchange for the 33 Israeli hostages, including 737 individuals who were not captured during the conflict and some of whom are serving life sentences for murder.
The implementation of the deal has been fraught with issues, with both Israel and Hamas accusing each other of violations at various points. U.S. President Donald Trump’s controversial proposal to relocate Palestinians from Gaza has added uncertainty to the already fragile agreement.
The hostages released so far include 19 Israeli civilians and soldiers, as well as five Thai nationals. The full list of released individuals includes:

• Romi Gonen, 23
• Emily Damari, 27
• Doron Steinbrecher, 31
• Liri Albag, 19
• Karina Ariev, 20
• Danielle Gilboa, 20
• Naama Levy, 20
• Agam Berger, 21
• Arbel Yehoud, 29
• Gadi Moshe Mozes, 80
• Keith Siegel, 65
• Yarden Bibas, 35
• Ofer Calderon, 54
• Or Levy, 34
• Ohad Ben-Ami, 58
• Eli Sharabi, 52
• Sagui Dekel-Chen, 36
• Iair Horn, 46
• Sasha Troufanov, 28

The next phases of the deal are focused on securing a “sustainable calm” in Gaza, with the goal of releasing the remaining hostages, freeing more Palestinian prisoners, and eventually negotiating an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
Although talks for the second phase were initially supposed to begin two weeks ago, the Israeli delegation sent to Doha by Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu was reportedly only authorized to address technical matters regarding the first phase.
The families of male hostages who are not slated for release until the second phase have expressed concerns about the delay in negotiations for the next stage of the agreement.
In addition to those released in the deal, eight hostages have been rescued alive by Israeli forces, and the remains of 40 hostages have been recovered. This includes three who were accidentally killed by the Israeli military while attempting to escape their captors.
Hamas continues to hold Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, the two Israeli civilians who entered Gaza in 2014 and 2015, as well as the body of IDF soldier Hadar Goldin, who was killed in 2014. The body of another IDF soldier, Oren Shaul, who also died in 2014, was recovered from Gaza in January.
{Matzav.com Israel}