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Hamas hostages

An Israeli soldier reads a newspaper with a picture of Gilad Shalit as a tank prepares to deploy near the Gaza border on June 26, 2006. (AFP/MENAHEM KAHANA)
20 years on, newly released military logs detail confusion during Shalit abduction
By Stav Levaton
Records trace initial moments after attack, with soldier only identified as kidnapped hours after being dragged into Gaza, setting off 5-year national crisis and exchange deal seen as precursor to October 7
An Israeli soldier reads a newspaper with a picture of Gilad Shalit as a tank prepares to deploy near the Gaza border on June 26, 2006. (AFP/MENAHEM KAHANA)
June 25, 2026, 6:11 am
20 years on, newly released military logs detail confusion during Shalit abduction
Records trace initial moments after attack, with soldier only identified as kidnapped hours after being dragged into Gaza, setting off 5-year national crisis and exchange deal seen as precursor to October 7
By Stav Levaton
Freed hostage Ilana Gritzewsky speaks at a session of the UN Human Rights Council on June 23, 2026. (Screenshot)
June 23, 2026, 8:47 pm
Ex-hostage to UN official who doubted Oct. 7 rape: ‘I am living proof’ of Hamas sexual violence
At rights council, Ilana Gritzewsky addresses UN special rapporteur on violence against women, who falsely claimed no independent probes have found proof of rape during onslaught
By Nava Freiberg and ToI Staff
This image released by the IDF on June 22, 2026, shows Hamas terrorist Sabaei Zahir Abd al-Hamid Abu Hasna standing alongside hostage Omer Shem Tov upon the latter's release on February 22, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)
June 23, 2026, 3:25 am
IDF: Oct. 7 terrorist who held Omer Shem Tov hostage killed in recent Gaza strike
Sabaei Zahir Abd al-Hamid Abu Hasna, a member of Hamas’s elite Nukhba Force who forced Israeli captive to kiss him upon release, was targeted in Saturday airstrike, says military
By Emanuel Fabian
Noam Horev (left) and Ziv Koren, the writer and photographer behind 'We Will Rise,' an installation about October 7, created with the Azrieli Group, opened on June 9, 2026 (Digist)
June 13, 2026, 4:47 pm
Rooftop installation brings searing Oct. 7 imagery and poignant lyrics to Azrieli Mall
‘We Will Rise,’ opened June 9 and running through October, pairs texts by writer and poet Noam Horev with Ziv Koren’s photographs in a 45-minute journey through trauma and resilience
By Jessica Steinberg
Gal Hirsch attends a ceremony in honor of the torch lighters for Israel’s 78th Independence Day ceremony at the Knesset, in Jerusalem, on April 20, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
June 11, 2026, 7:40 pm
Hostage czar Hirsch’s position left empty as term ends; PM’s office says aiming to renew contract
Gal Hirsch was government pointman for returning the 251 abducted by terrorists to Gaza; though all have returned, he faced sharp criticism from ex-hostages, relatives of captives
By Nava Freiberg and Lazar Berman
MK Simcha Rothman leads a Constitution, Law and Justice Committee meeting at the Knesset, Jerusalem, May 27, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
June 10, 2026, 5:17 pm
Rothman touts coalition’s ‘wonderful’ term, drawing ire of Oct. 7 victims’ relative
Merav Svirsky tells Religious Zionism lawmaker that some are ‘paying the price for your conduct,’ is reportedly removed from Knesset panel hearing during break
By ToI Staff
Elai Botner (seen playing the guitar) performs and celebrates with members of Kibbutz Nahal Oz on May 21, 2026 (Courtesy)
May 30, 2026, 1:06 pm
At reopened Nahal Oz pub, Israeli musician comes full circle after October 7
Singer Elai Botner reunites on Shavuot holiday with uprooted kibbutz members he played for days after the massacre, bringing back the song he wrote with them in mind
By Jessica Steinberg
Eli Sharabi (right) and Roni Kuban (center) during a reading of Sharabi's book 'Hostage' at the International Writers Festival in Jerusalem on May 28, 2026. (Jessica Steinberg/The Times of Israel)
May 29, 2026, 4:05 am
‘Not a day I’m not happy; not a day I don’t feel the loss’: Eli Sharabi on life after captivity
At Jerusalem Writers Festival, author of bestselling ‘Hostage’ talks about mourning his family, time in captivity, regrets from before Oct. 7 and imagining his wife watching him from heaven
By Jessica Steinberg
Religious Zionism party chairman and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich (R) with new party member Zvika Mor during a press conference at the Knesset in Jerusalem, May 26, 2026 (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
May 26, 2026, 1:40 pm
Zvika Mor, father of former hostage Eitan Mor, joins Smotrich’s Religious Zionism
Former Tikva Forum leader opposed hostage deals, backed comptroller’s October 7 probe over a state commission; far-right minister praises Mor for ‘standing firm’ in his values
By Ariela Karmel and ToI Staff
Former hostage Maxim Herkin's book about his Hamas captivity experiences is published on May 20, 2026 (Courtesy)
May 25, 2026, 10:55 am
Ex-hostage Maxim Herkin publishes book featuring a diary he secretly wrote in captivity
‘Coming to Light’ recounts Herkin’s experiences during his 2 years in the clutches of Hamas, including his success concealing the fact he was an IDF officer
By Jessica Steinberg
Alon Ohel, far right, and his brother, Ronen Ohel, perform at the Israeli ambassador's residence in Berlin on May 18, 2026 (WJC / Nicolai Froundjian)
May 19, 2026, 8:42 pm
In Berlin, ex-hostage Alon Ohel plays piano in appreciation of support
Pianist performs briefly at Israeli ambassador’s event, shares how music helped him survive Hamas captivity in Gaza
By Jessica Steinberg
From left to right: Hostages Yotam Haim, Samar Talalka and Alon Lulu Shamriz, who were killed mistakenly by IDF troops in Gaza on December 15, 2023. (Courtesy)
May 10, 2026, 6:13 pm
Mother of hostage killed by IDF gunfire says troops were told to open fire on sight
Soldiers involved in the December 2023 killing of three Israelis in Gaza told Iris Haim they were operating under broad orders to ‘shoot to kill,’ leading to her son’s tragic death
By Stav Levaton and Emanuel Fabian
Suspect Mohamed Sabry Soliman is seen as he launched an attack on demonstrators supporting Israeli hostages, at an outdoor mall, June 1, 2025, in Boulder, Colorado. (Lisa Turnquist via AP)
May 7, 2026, 11:55 pm
Firebomber sentenced to life without parole for deadly attack on Colorado hostage rally
Mohamed Soliman, 46, pleads guilty to 184 felony counts in state court but not guilty to federal hate crime charges, with his lawyers arguing ‘Zionists’ not protected class
By Agencies and ToI Staff
Omer Shem Tov speaks onstage during the humanitarian award dinner for Warner Bros. Discovery President and CEO David Zaslav, presented by the Simon Wiesenthal Center on October 30, 2025, in Beverly Hills, California. (Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images for Simon Wiesenthal Center/AFP)
April 29, 2026, 4:19 am
UCLA student government censured after condemning event with ex-hostage Omer Shem Tov
University, Jewish groups and a sitting regent denounce student leaders for claiming freed captive’s talk ‘amplified one-sided narrative that erases systems of oppression and occupation’
By Andrew Lapin
Author Rachel Goldberg-Polin joins host Jessica Steinberg for an episode of What Matters Now
April 22, 2026, 2:05 am
Rachel Goldberg-Polin: Mother of murdered hostage Hersh ‘parcels out her pain’ in book
‘When We See You Again’ is mother’s raw accounting of what happened to her son, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, and to her and her family
By Jessica Steinberg
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