After 484 days, Hamas hostage Ofer Calderon released from Gaza captivity

On February 1, 2025, Ofer Calderon, 54, was released from Hamas captivity in Gaza as part of phase one of a mediated ceasefire-hostage release deal. He was handed over to the Red Cross, who delivered him to IDF soldiers who escorted him and fellow freed captive Yarden Bibas into Israel. Below is what we initially knew of his capture: 

Ofer Calderon, 52 (now 54), was taken captive on Saturday, October 7, with two of his children, when Hamas terrorists stormed Kibbutz Nir Oz, killing over 100 residents and some 15 foreign agricultural workers, and taking about 80 hostages.

Calderon, along with Erez and Sahar, two of his four children, initially escaped from their shelter through the window during the Hamas onslaught, into the fields of Kibbutz Nir Oz, where they were later taken hostage.

Sahar Calderon, 16, and Erez Calderon, 12, were released on November 27 as part of a temporary ceasefire deal brokered by Qatar and the United States between Hamas and Israel.

Hadas Calderon, Ofer’s ex-wife, was in the sealed room of her home on the kibbutz, holding the door handle against the terrorists. Their elder son, Rotem, 19, also survived in the safe room of his apartment, in the kibbutz area for young adults, while his older sister Gaya, 21, was in Tel Aviv.

Grandmother Carmela Dan was at her house down the street with Hadas Calderon’s niece, Noya Dan. Their bodies were found on October 19.

At a press conference held in the aftermath of the Hamas massacres in Israel’s south, Gaya Calderon wept, saying, “My dad brought me up, he’s my best friend, I have no one to talk to.”

Hadas Calderon stood in front of the Defense Ministry for days before her two children were released, and extended members of the family are continuing to rally for Ofer Calderon’s release.

Ofer marked his 53rd and 54th birthdays in captivity in Gaza.