Hamas on Tuesday released a group of 12 hostages, most of them Israelis or dual nationals, but also two Thai nationals, all of whom had been kidnapped during the terrorist attacks carried out by Hamas on October 7 in Israel.
This is the fifth group to be released since Friday, when a temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took effect.
Here is what we know about the Israeli hostages released on Tuesday.
Clara Marman, 63; Mia Leimberg, 17; Gabriela Leimberg, 59 years old
Ms. Marman, 63, a member of Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak, was taken hostage on October 7, along with her partner, Luis Norberto Har, and three visiting family members: a brother, Fernando Marman, 60; a sister, Gabriela Leimberg, 59; and Ms. Leimberg’s 17-year-old daughter, Mia Leimberg, a high school student who lives in Jerusalem.
Moshe Leimberg, Gabriela’s husband and Mia’s father, stayed home in Jerusalem that day because he had the flu.
In a notice posted on LinkedIn, Mr. Leimberg said that since October 7, he had not heard from his wife and daughter. “Not a word, not an image,” he wrote. “They simply disappeared, leaving behind a few scattered personal belongings, almost as if they never existed.”
Their absence, he said, “left a gaping hole.”
Gabriela Leimberg is the director of a daycare for young adults with autism. The Shekel organization, pleaded for the release of the family.
Mia Leimberg, known for her singing voice, studied at the Jerusalem Arts High School and also worked in a bookstore, according to the Forum of Families of Hostages and Missing Persons. The family dog was taken with the family; On Tuesday, videos broadcast by local media showed Mia carrying a dog as she approached International Committee of the Red Cross vehicles.
A banner hanging at Mia’s high school reads: “We’re waiting for you to come back, Mia.” »
Mr. Har and Mr. Marman are believed to still be in Gaza.
Ditza Heiman, 84 years old
Ditza Heiman, 84, was one of the first members of Kibbutz Nir Oz and spent her entire adult life on the kibbutz, her son, Gideon Heiman, told a press conference organized by the Forum of Families of Hostages and Missing Persons earlier this month.
Ms. Heiman, who worked as a social worker, retired just before she turned 80, Mr. Heiman said. “She spent her whole life helping people and caring for people,” he said.
Ms. Heiman requires blood-thinning medication and suffered a pulmonary embolism in the past, Dr. Sharon Kleitman, a family doctor at Kibbutz Nir Oz, said at the same news conference.
“My mother is not a healthy woman and she needs medication,” Mr. Heiman said.
When the family tried to call Ms. Heiman the day of the attack, someone picked up and said, “It’s Hamas,” said her daughter, Neta Heiman. in a video posted by the forum.
“When I imagine my mother there, she takes care of everyone,” Ms. Heiman said in the video, adding: “That’s my mother.” She will take care of everyone if she can. If they would only let her.
“My mother and many of her friends from Kibbutz Nir Oz who were massacred were people of peace,” Neta Heiman said in a statement. opinion article ” in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, adding: “All my mother and her friends wanted was to live in peace in the little Eden they had built there in the desert. »
Tamar Metzger, 78 years old
Tamar Metzger, 78, was taken hostage with her husband, Yoram Metzger, from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, according to a report in the Times of Israel. The couple have three children and seven grandchildren.
She had worked in the kibbutz daycare and managed the general store, but in recent years she was a full-time grandmother, spending a lot of time caring for her grandchildren, according to the Hostages and Families Forum disappeared.
Tamar has limited mobility, according to the forum, and spends a lot of time on her balcony, reading, doing crosswords and smoking cigarettes.
Her husband reportedly remained in Gaza.
Noralin Babadila, 60 years old
Noralin Babadila, 60, was visiting friends in Kibbutz Nirim on October 7 when terrorists attacked, killing her partner, Gideon Babani, and taking her hostage. The kibbutz celebrated the anniversary of its founding this weekend.
Ms. Babadila was born in the Philippines but lived in Yehud, a city in central Israel. She spoke with her brother by phone early in the morning of Oct. 7 and told him she was scared and might not come back, according to an article from the Times of Israel.
Ada Sagi, 75 years old
Ada Sagi, 75, a resident of Kibbutz Nir Oz, taught Hebrew and Arabic, according to the Forum of Families of Hostages and Missing Persons.
The child of Polish Holocaust survivors, she moved to a kibbutz when she was 18, according to the Associated Press.
She was preparing for a planned trip to London to visit family and celebrate her 75th birthday when she was kidnapped on October 7.
Meirav Tal, 53 years old
Meirav Tal, 53, her boyfriend, Yair Yaakov, and her children, Or, 16, and Yagil, 12, were all taken hostage at Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7.
Both Or and Yagil were released on Monday, the fourth day of the ceasefire, among a group of 11 freed Israeli hostages.
Yair Yaakov is believed to still be in Gaza.
Rimon Kirsht, 36 years old
Rimon Kirsht, 36, and her husband, Yagev Buchshtab, 34, were kidnapped from Kibbutz Nirim on October 7.
The couple married two years ago, according to the Families of Hostages and Missing Persons Forum, and had five dogs and five cats, most of which had been abused before being adopted.
Ms. Kirsht practices alternative medicine and reflexology and volunteers at Maslan, a support center for victims of sexual assault and domestic violence in southern Israel.
Ms. Kirsht enjoys growing plants, adopting and raising animals and listening to music, favoring Israeli bands Guns N’Roses and U2, according to the Forum for Families of Hostages and Missing Persons.
Ms. Kirsht was featured in a hostage-taking video released by Hamas in late October. Mr. Buchshtab is said to have remained in Gaza.
Ofélia Adit Roitman77
Ofelia Roitman, 77, left Argentina for Israel in 1985, according to a Facebook post by the Forum of Families of Hostages and Missing Persons.
She lived on Kibbutz Nir Oz and has nine grandchildren.
Ms. Roitman was an educator who taught first and second graders for two decades, her daughter, Natalie Madmaon, said in a statement. video published by the Israeli public broadcaster Kan.
Her family lost contact with her on October 7, Madmaon said in the video.
She worked in education on the kibbutz for many years, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.
John Reiss reports contributed.
