The hostage timeline, October 2023 to January 2026

Hamas took 251 people hostage into Gaza during the attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. ¹

The first pause in the fighting came seven weeks later. A truce brokered by Qatar, Egypt, and the United States took effect Nov. 24, 2023, built around an initial exchange of 50 Israeli hostages for 150 Palestinian prisoners over four days, with extensions tied to additional releases. By the time it collapsed on Dec. 1, both sides trading blame, 105 civilian hostages had come out, 81 Israelis, 23 Thai nationals, and one Filipino national, and Israel had released 240 Palestinian prisoners, more than half of them minors and three-quarters never convicted of a crime. ²

The next deal took over a year to reach. On Jan. 15, 2025, Israel and Hamas announced a ceasefire and hostage agreement, with the first phase set to begin five days later. That phase ran 42 days: a full ceasefire, an Israeli troop withdrawal from populated areas of Gaza, and a phased hostage-for-prisoner exchange, including nine sick and wounded hostages traded for 110 Palestinian prisoners as the phase opened. Roughly 98 hostages remained in Gaza at that point, including Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, who had been held since 2014 and 2015. The deal's later phases called for a permanent end to the war, the release of all remaining living hostages, a full Israeli withdrawal, and the return of the bodies of those who had died in captivity. ³

The last hostage came home more than a year after that. Police officer Ran Gvili was returned on Jan. 26, 2026, after 738 days in captivity. The public countdown clock that had tracked the hostages' time in Gaza stopped at 844 days. ¹

On Aug. 13, 2026, Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai formally unveiled new signage renaming the plaza outside the Tel Aviv Museum of Art "Hostages Square," the site where families and supporters had held rallies, weekly Shabbat gatherings, and vigils throughout the ordeal. Huldai said the name would preserve the period "from October 7, 2023 until the return of the final hostage," adding: "History cannot be erased, and we must not allow it to be forgotten." ¹