The fate of about 20 remaining hostages held by militant groups in Gaza was thrown into question after Israel’s security cabinet approved a plan on Friday to expand the war by taking control of Gaza City.
In the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas-led assault on Israel, militants killed about 1,200 people and abducted about 250 others — Israelis and people from other countries, including children — and took them across the border into Gaza. Militants from Palestinian Islamic Jihad joined in the abductions.
The cabinet’s decision went against the recommendations of the Israeli military. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, a group representing many families of the hostages, called the decision a “death sentence to the living hostages” and a “disappearance sentence to the bodies of those killed in captivity.”
Here is what to know about the hostages in Gaza.
How many hostages are in Gaza?
Israel believes about 20 living hostages are still in Gaza, along with the bodies of 30 others. Videos released on July 31 and Aug. 1 showed two living captives looking emaciated and frail, shocking many Israelis and raising questions about how much longer the men could survive.
What happened to the other hostages?
Many of the people kidnapped on Oct. 7 have been freed in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, while more than three dozen hostages have been killed in captivity, according to an investigation by The New York Times.
Seven hostages were executed by their captors as Israeli soldiers drew near, and four others died in Israeli airstrikes, according to Israeli officials and the public findings of military investigations.
Three hostages were killed by Israeli soldiers who mistook them for Palestinian militants, the Israeli military said publicly; one was shot dead in crossfire. The circumstances surrounding the deaths of 26 others remain inconclusive.
How are families of the hostages reacting?
The families of hostages worry that the plan to take control of Gaza City could lead the Israeli military to inadvertently kill their loved ones, or Hamas to execute them.
A group of the families and survivors of Hamas captivity chained themselves in front of Israel’s cabinet on Friday to protest the security cabinet’s decision.
In a social media statement, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said the “expansion of fighting only further endangers those still held in Gaza’s tunnels,” adding that “by choosing military escalation over negotiation, we are leaving our loved ones at the mercy of Hamas.”
According to Ynetnews, an Israeli news outlet, a group of hostages’ relatives and captivity survivors held a Kabbalat Shabbat ceremony outside the home of Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on Friday, setting up a table with photographs of the hostages.
Mr. Netanyahu defended the plan in a social media post on Friday. “This will help free our hostages and ensure Gaza does not pose a threat to Israel in the future,” he said on X.
Pranav Baskar is an international reporter and a member of the 2025-26 Times Fellowship class, a program for journalists early in their careers.
The post What to Know About the Israeli Hostages Still Held in Gaza appeared first on New York Times.
