Israelis choose ‘hostages’ as Academy of the Hebrew Language’s word of 2024
Word ‘hatufim’ revealed to mark Hebrew Language Day, beating Hebrew words for ‘heroism,’ ‘approved for publication’ — which precedes IDF death announcements — by thousands of votes

To mark Tuesday’s annual Hebrew Language Day, the Academy of the Hebrew Language has announced its word of 2024: “hostages.”
The Hebrew word for hostages, hatufim, was selected as the top pick by thousands of online voters, beating out the other top contenders by a massive majority. The runners-up were gvura, which means “heroism,” and hutar lefirsum, a phrase meaning “approved for publication,” which the IDF uses when announcing fallen soldiers.
“Hostages” received 45% of the online vote, with “heroism” in second place at 11%. “Approved for publication” got 10% and the remaining votes went to “responsibility” (ahrayut) with 9%, “together” (yahad) with 6%, “home” (bayit) with 5%, “UAV, or unmanned aerial vehicle” (katbam), “short distance” (kefesa), and “reserve duty” (miluim) with 4% each, and “intensity” (atzimut) with 2%.
The word hatuf (singular of hatufim) is relatively new to the Hebrew language, which in older times utilized the words shavuy and assir to mean hostage.
However, in more modern times, the Academy said, the word hatuf has been used more, “especially in cases of bursting into the life of an innocent person and taking their freedom from them.”
This was the case with the 251 hostages Hamas took in its October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. During the attack, terrorists abducted men, women, and children from the Nova music festival and homes and military bases in Israel’s south.

The terrorist organization released four hostages shortly after October 7 and another 105 in November last year as part of a deal with Israel.
Another three hostages were released on Sunday as part of a ceasefire deal that came into effect that day. The deal is in its first phase during which another 30 hostages are set to be released and the terms of the second and third phases will be negotiated for the release of the rest.
The IDF also rescued eight hostages alive and retrieved the bodies of 40 hostages, including three mistakenly killed by the military as they tried to escape their captors.
It is believed that 91 of the hostages currently remain in Hamas captivity, including the bodies of at least 34 who have been confirmed dead.
“This year, the year of the hardest and longest war in our history, was also a year when we often felt speechless. Still, throughout the year, words stood out that reflected the reality: the pain, the grief, the anger, and the pride, overcoming and feeling grateful to those who risked their lives. The words that were chosen represent that entirety,” the Academy wrote in a Facebook post that announced the word of the year.
Reflecting Israelis’ initial shock after the October 7 onslaught, the Academy didn’t offer a word of the year for 2023. In 2022, the word “sinkhole” (bolan) was chosen and in 2021 tirlul, a newly minted word for a traditional Mideast celebratory noise at weddings. In 2020, reflecting the raging coronavirus pandemic, the word of the year was “throat swab” (matosh).
Since 2012, Hebrew Language Day is observed in Israeli schools and in Jewish communities across the Diaspora on the 21st of Tevet – the Hebrew birthday of Eliezer ben Yehuda, a pioneering force in the rebirth of the language in Israel.
The Academy said that it hoped that “toward Hebrew Language Day next year, we’ll be considering words that represent happiness and peace, and until then, we’re waiting for the swift return of all the hostages from captivity and the safe return of all our soldiers from battle.”