00:00Did female hostages make it out of Gaza?
00:07A total of 20 individuals were freed as part of the fragile ceasefire deal brokered between Israel
00:13and Hamas in early October, which was hailed by European leaders. In exchange, Israel freed nearly
00:192,000 Palestinian prisoners. Following these major events, a number of European journalists,
00:24commentators and social media users have alleged that not a single woman survived the horrors of
00:29captivity in Gaza. Although it is true that only men were released during the last hostage deal,
00:35these claims do not take into account the wider context. On 7 October 2023, Hamas took 251 hostages
00:42from Israel into Gaza. 51 of them were women, 200 were male, while 37 were children.
00:48More than two years on, the last remaining living hostages return to Israel on 13 October.
00:53The full list of these 20 living hostages is publicly available and includes only men.
00:59However, there is a reason for this. Women, civilians and children were released first during the
01:05successive hostage deals brokered between Israel and Hamas. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
01:10commented on this in November 2023, referring to tough decisions in the context of Israel negotiating
01:16the release of infants and children, mothers and women. Additionally, media reports, as well as
01:21official communications from the IDF and Israeli government, confirm that female hostages have
01:26been freed during prior deals. On 15 October, the body of the last female hostage was returned to
01:33Israel, following identification carried out by forensic experts. So although there were no female
01:39hostages released as part of the last deal brokered between Israel and Hamas, many had been freed
01:44previously.
