A look at the hostages taken to Gaza, by the numbers

This undated photo provided by The Hostages Families Forum Headquarters on Friday, Aug. 29, 2025, shows Israeli hostage Ilan Weiss, whose body was recovered in an Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip. (The Hostages Families Forum Headquarters Forum via AP)

Israel on Friday said its military had recovered the body of a hostage and the remains of another.

The body of Ilan Weiss, 55, who was killed in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that sparked the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip, was recovered in a covert operation, the military said.

Weiss’ wife and daughter were also taken hostage during the attack on Kibbutz Be’eri, one of the southern Israel communities near Gaza that Hamas-led militants stormed on Oct. 7. They were released as part of a hostage release agreement during a brief ceasefire in November 2023.

A forensics lab was working to identify “findings linked to another deceased hostage” whose remains were also recovered, the military said, adding that the family, which it did not name, had been notified.

The military did not provide details about the recovery operation.

Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 hostages in the Oct. 7 attack. The ensuing war has killed more than 63,000 Palestinians in Gaza, mostly women and children, Gaza’s Health Ministry said Friday. The ministry doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants.

Here are details on the hostages:

Total hostages captured during Oct. 7 attack: 251

Hostages taken before the Oct. 7 attack: 4 (including 2 who entered Gaza in 2014 and 2015 and the bodies of 2 soldiers killed in the 2014 war)

Hostages released in exchanges or other deals: 148, of which 8 were dead

Bodies of hostages retrieved by Israeli forces: 50 (the authorities are working to identify the remains of one more)

Hostages rescued alive: 8

Hostages still in captivity: 49, of which the Israeli military believes 20 are still alive

Non-Israeli hostages in captivity: 4 ( 2 Thai nationals and 1 Tanzanian who have been confirmed dead, and a Nepalese national)

The Associated Press