Negotiations so far more effective than rescues in bringing Israeli hostages home from Gaza

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's military has rescued its eighth hostage from Gaza since the 10-month-old war began.

While the rescue Tuesday set off celebrations, it also renewed calls from the families of hostages who are still being held in Gaza for a deal that would bring home their loved ones before it's too late. They say an agreement, not military rescues, is the best hope.

International mediators have tried for months to broker a deal that would see scores of hostages still held by Hamas exchanged for Palestinian prisoners and a cease-fire. But Israel and Hamas cannot agree on key portions of the deal.

Of some 250 hostages taken by Hamas militants in the Oct. 7 attack that triggered the war, around 105 were released in a cease-fire last November. Israel says 108 remain in Gaza, at least 36 of whom are believed dead.

“After 10 months, the IDF managed just to release a small number of hostages from Hamas and the rest of them must be released by negotiations and by ending this war,” said Mazen Abu Siam, a close friend of Qaid Farhan Alkadi, the hostage who was freed Tuesday.

Here's where things stand, according to official Israeli figures:

The Israeli military has rescued eight hostages in Gaza, per an AP count.

It brought one home in the immediate aftermath of the Oct. 7 attack, a female soldier, Pvt. Ori Megidish, 19.

Two men, Fernando Simon Marman, 60, and Louis Har, 70, were rescued in February, when troops stormed a heavily guarded apartment in southern Gaza. Airstrikes carried out to provide cover during the raid killed more than 60 Palestinians, including women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

The military rescued four hostages — Noa Argamani, 26, Almog Meir Jan, 22, Andrey Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 41 — in June, killing at least 210 Palestinians in the operation, according to a Gaza health official.

On Tuesday, the military said it had rescued Alkadi.

Israeli troops mistakenly killed three hostages — Yotam Haim, 28, Samer Al-Talalka 25, and Alon Shamriz, 26 — in December.

The army’s chief spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said it was believed that the three had escaped their captors or had been abandoned.

The soldiers mistakenly identified the three Israelis as a threat and opened fire on them, he said.

Israel’s hostage crisis began when Hamas-backed militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing around 1,200 people and abducting about 250 more.

Of the hostages taken to Gaza, 105 were released during a weeklong cease-fire in November, in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners. The released hostages included 81 Israeli citizens and 24 foreign nationals, most of them Thai.

Four female hostages were released through earlier deals brokered by the U.S. and other mediators.

Israel believes that 108 hostages, dead and alive, remain in Gaza, including four Israelis captured years earlier. Two of them, Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul, were Israeli soldiers believed to have been killed in a 2014 war.

Israel says it has determined that at least 36 of those who were taken Oct. 7 are dead and that militants are holding their remains. Some may have been killed during that attack.

The cause of death for others is unknown, although Hamas has claimed some were killed in Israeli airstrikes. Israeli officials believe the number of dead hostages could be higher.

There are about 70 hostages left in Gaza who Israel has not pronounced dead.

That includes about 15 women and two siblings under the age of 5 — Kfir and Ariel Bibas, whose mother, Shiri Bibas, is also still in captivity.

Also included is Hersh Polin-Goldberg, a 23-year-old American-Israeli who was taken hostage at a music festival where over 300 people were killed. Polin-Goldberg's parents have led a global campaign calling for their son's release and drawing attention to the plight of the hostages. Hamas released a video of Polin-Goldberg in April. Badly wounded in the Oct. 7 attack, his left hand was amputated. But the video was the first sign that he hadn't been killed.

Israeli troops have recovered the bodies of at least 20 hostages from Gaza, according to Israeli government figures.

The bodies of two hostages, including female soldier Noa Marciano, were brought back from Gaza in November. So were the bodies of the three hostages killed by friendly fire in December.

The bodies of seven hostages, two women and five men, were recovered in Gaza in May.

Last week, Israel recovered the bodies of six male hostages.