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kidnappings

US journalist Shelly Kittleson poses for a picture in Baghdad on March 30, 2026.(AFP)
April 7, 2026, 10:31 pm
US journalist in Iraq freed one week after she was kidnapped by Kataeb Hezbollah
Freelance reporter Shelly Kittleson had been held in Baghdad, says source, and was ordered to ‘leave the country immediately’ after being released by Iran-backed militia
By AP and Jacob Magid
Shelly Kittleson in Bahgdad, Iraq, December 2024. (Taken from Shelly Kittleson's X account)
April 1, 2026, 12:33 am
American journalist kidnapped in Baghdad; Iraq says manhunt underway, one detained
Footage appears to show freelancer Shelly Kittleson being shoved into car by unknown assailants; US says it ‘fulfilled its duty’ by warning her of threats against her ahead of time
By Agencies, Nurit Yohanan and Jacob Magid
Police arrest a man who allegedly kidnapped his two children into the southern West Bank on March 12, 2026. (Israel Police)
March 12, 2026, 3:31 pm
Man kidnaps daughters to West Bank; officers rescue them, arrest him
After reported incident of domestic violence in Ashdod, father allegedly grabs children, aged 1 and 3, and heads to Palestinian village; cops track him, return kids to mother
By Charlie Summers
An Israeli woman who was extracted from the West Bank city of Jericho is seen next to an officer from Israel's Civil Administration, December 19, 2025. (Courtesy)
December 22, 2025, 11:10 am
Israeli rescued from Jericho abduction says she was threatened with gun, assaulted
Reports say woman told police she was lured to West Bank by man she met online, who she thought was Jewish; woman was extracted by PA forces, returned to Israel
By ToI Staff
An Israeli woman who was extracted from the West Bank city of Jericho is seen next to an officer from the Civil Administration, December 19, 2025. (Courtesy)
December 19, 2025, 9:55 pm
PA forces extract Israeli from Jericho who reported being kidnapped
Reports say woman told investigators she was assaulted by group of men at an apartment in the West Bank city after she was brought there unknowingly by a work acquaintance
By Emanuel Fabian
Illustrative: A suspect is handcuffed in Jerusalem, May 21, 2025. (Yossi Zamir/Flash90)
September 25, 2025, 12:54 pm
Arab Israeli, 22, accused of plot to kidnap soldier as leverage to force end of Gaza war
Amin Hassan Abdelqader Azzam, from Taybeh, faces terror charges for practicing shooting with paintball gun, downloading Hamas handbook, seeking religious approval to hold hostage
By Charlie Summers
A Muslim woman prays during an event to mark the 10th anniversary of the kidnapping of students from Government Girls Secondary School Chibok by Boko Haram, in Lagos, Nigeria, April 14, 2024. (AP/Sunday Alamba)
May 26, 2025, 10:13 am
Netanyahu compares October 7 hostages to girls kidnapped by Boko Haram
PM recorded telling families Israel doing more than any other country to return its abducted citizens, but mass kidnappings are not unique to Hamas
By ToI Staff
Itay Kashti (YouTube screenshot used in accordance with article 27a of the Copyright Law)
March 15, 2025, 6:45 am
UK jails 3 for kidnapping Israeli music producer: ‘Felt like my own personal Oct. 7’
Judge says the trio were ‘motivated by events taking place elsewhere in the world’ and chose victim Itay Kashti based on their ‘understanding of his wealth and his Jewish heritage’
By AFP
A hole in the ground near Aqbat Jabr in the West Bank, where the Shin Bet says a Palestinian cell planned to hide Israelis after kidnapping them, in a screenshot from video released on July 22, 2024. (Shin Bet)
July 22, 2024, 5:48 pm
West Bank terror cell indicted over plot to attack, kidnap Israelis
Shin Bet says terror suspects had dug a hole near one of their homes that they intended to use to hold Israeli hostages
By Emanuel Fabian
Illustrative -- Lev Tahor women and girls in Canada (Screen grab/YouTube)
July 11, 2024, 6:35 am
Last defendants in Lev Tahor abduction case sentenced to over 10 years in US prison
NY court hands down sentences to three brothers who were convicted for child exploitation and kidnapping on behalf of extremist Jewish cult
By Luke Tress
Illustrative. A criminal in handcuffs. (Yakobchuk Olena/ iStock, by Getty Images)
April 1, 2024, 1:13 pm
Two arrested on suspicion of kidnapping, raping 15-year-old girl
Friend alerts police that teen was missing from north, sparking hunt; officers find her in south near car with 2 men; tests indicate assault, suspects claim they only gave her ride
By ToI Staff
Members of the extreme ultra-Orthodox Lev Tahor sect assisting a woman as they escape from a detention shelter in Huixtla, Chiapas state, Mexico, on September 29, 2022. (Benjamin Alfaro/AFP)
March 29, 2024, 8:16 am
3 defendants in Lev Tahor cult abduction case convicted in NY of 2018 kidnapping
Brothers Yoil Weingarten, Yakov Weingarten and Shmiel Weingarten, of extremist sect, found guilty for their role in abducting two children from their mother’s home in the Catskills
By Luke Tress
Parents wait for news about the kidnapped LEA Primary and Secondary School Kuriga students in Kuriga, Kaduna, Nigeria, on March 9, 2024.(Sunday Alamba/AP)
March 24, 2024, 10:17 am
200 kidnapped Nigerian students and staff released from captivity
Kaduna Governor Uba Sani says country’s national security adviser coordinated development, thanks armed forces; doesn’t specify how captives, abducted earlier in month, were freed
By Agencies
Renana Gome (middle) with her sons, Yagil Yaakov (left) and Or Yaakov, reunited after the boys' release on November 27, 2023 from Hamas captivity since October 7, 2023 (Courtesy)
December 1, 2023, 9:56 am
Relative of freed captives say Hamas branded child hostages in case they escaped
Aunt says veterinarian operated on captive niece’s arm; hostages survived on ‘minimal food’; doctor says returning captives had ‘undergone hardship, physically and mentally’
By ToI Staff
Relatives of Shaked Haran from Kibbutz Be'eri near the Gaza border missing and believed to have been in Hamas captivity since Saturday, October 7, 2023. (Courtesy)
October 11, 2023, 11:03 pm
10 members of same kibbutz family believed held by Hamas, including 3 children
Yaheli, 3, and Naveh, 8, from Kibbutz Be’eri, have dual German citizenship. Aunt meets with German ambassador, but her requests to meet Israeli ministers go unanswered
By Sue Surkes
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