How many hostages are left in Gaza?

Hamas freed six Israelis on Saturday in the last scheduled release of living hostages by the militant group under the current stage of a ceasefire agreement with Israel.

In all, a total of 33 Israelis have been returned during this stage, including eight who died or were killed in captivity.

With Saturday’s release, 25 living hostages have now been returned since the ceasefire took effect last month. Five Thai hostages have also been freed separately.

The remains of four Israeli hostages were returned this week in a transfer that was marred when Hamas handed over the wrong body for Shiri Bibas, an Israeli mother of two young boys abducted by militants. After a tense standoff, her remains were returned and identified early on Saturday.

The final four sets of remains are to be returned next week.

Hamas abducted some 250 people in its October 7 2023 attack that triggered the war. More than 48,000 Palestinians in Gaza, mostly women and children, have been killed in the ensuing conflict, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

Israel is releasing nearly 2,000 prisoners and detainees during the first phase of the ceasefire in exchange for the hostages.

Here are details on the hostages taken on October 7 2023:

– Total captured: 251

– Hostages freed in exchanges or other deals: 138

– Bodies of dead hostages returned in deals: Four

– Hostages still in captivity: 61, of whom Israel has declared 31 to be dead

– Hostages in captivity who are soldiers: 13, of whom Israel has declared seven to be dead

– Bodies of deceased hostages retrieved by Israeli troops: 40

– Hostages rescued alive: Eight

– Non-Israelis still in captivity: Five (three Thais, one Nepalese, one Tanzanian), of whom two (one Thai and one Nepalese) are believed to still be alive.

Separately:

The body of one Israeli soldier has been held in Gaza since before the October 7 attack. He was killed in the 2014 Israel-Hamas war.