Two years after Hamas' Oct. 7 terror attack on Israel unleashed the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, 48 hostages -- including 26 publicly confirmed dead-- remain in Gaza.
Twenty hostages are thought to still be alive, according to the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office. The names of two hostages who are believed to be dead have yet to be announced.
Matan Angrest is an Israeli soldier.
“My Matan, survive, hold on a little longer for me, for Dad, Adi, Ofir, and Roi, for an entire nation waiting for you,” his mom, Anat Angrest, said this year through the Hostages and Missing Families Forum Headquarters.
Gali and Ziv Berman are twin brothers who turned 28 last month while in captivity, according to The Jerusalem Post.
"You will return to the safe embrace of your mother. Hold on just a little longer, survive, and dream of a happy ending,” the family said in a statement last month.
Elkana Bohbot, a husband and dad of a young son, was taken hostage at the Nova musical festival where he tried to help the wounded during Hamas’ attack, according to the American Jewish Committee.
Rom Braslavski, a security guard at the Nova musical festival, stayed behind to help others when Hamas attacked, his family said, according to NBC Los Angeles.
"He could have run, but he did not. … He was a hero," his aunt, Braslavski Benmenahem, said in August.
Nimrod Cohen, now 21, was a 19-year-old soldier when he was kidnapped, according to the BBC.
As negotiations continue, his mom, Viki Cohen, told the BBC this weekend, "It is a fragile situation and we don't want to be disappointed again. And yet I feel hope that soon I will see Nimrod and I can hug [him] again."
Brothers Ariel and David Cunio are both hostages.
Their dad, Luis Cunio, wrote in Haaretz this week that his granddaughters "don't understand why their father and uncle aren't returning; they live the trauma every day."
"To my sons, Ariel and David: Know that we aren't giving up," he wrote. "I hope we'll see you soon, so hang on."
Evyatar David "is a full of life person, he is the kindest soul," his brother, Ilay David, told ABC News this weekend.
Hamas released a video of Evyatar David in captivity this summer, sparking concerns over his well-being.
"He was emaciated, skin and bones -- pictures we'd seen only 80 years ago when the Holocaust was over," Ilay David said. "We know that the only thing that keeps Evyatar alive is his faith -- and you can see it in his eyes."
Brothers Guy and Gal Gilboa-Dalal were at the Nova music festival when Guy Gilboa-Dalal was kidnapped.
Hamas published a propaganda video last month in which he briefly could be seen.
“It’s so hard missing him all day every day, thinking about him all day every day,” Gal Gilboa-Dalal told The Guardian this month. “And as time goes by it’s getting harder and harder [to bear], and harder and harder to see the light at the end of the tunnel."
Maxim Herkin is a dual Russian-Israeli citizen who moved to Israel from Ukraine, according to his family. Waiting for him at home are his partner, his young daughter, his mother and his younger brother.
Eitan Horn is a beloved youth leader who helped welcome newcomers to Israel, according to The Jerusalem Post.
His brother, Iair Horn, was also held hostage and was released in February.
Bipin Joshi, a Nepalese agriculture student who was in Israel to study, was kidnapped from a kibbutz, according to The Times of Israel.
“We just want him back,” his sister said in August, according to the newspaper. “It’s too much for me and my family."
Segev Kalfon was working in a bakery and studying finance before he was taken hostage at the Nova music festival, according to his mother.
His family is very concerned for his safety, noting that he was suffering from severe anxiety before he was kidnapped.
Bar Abraham Kupershtein was trying to save lives and evacuate injured people from the Nova music festival when he was taken hostage, his family told The Jerusalem Post.
Omri Miran's family said they are desperate to reunite him with his wife, Lishay, and two young daughters, Roni and Alma.
"Roni just celebrated her 4th birthday -- a second without her father," his brother-in-law, Moshe Lavi, told NPR in August. "Alma is 2 years old -- never celebrated a birthday with her father. He was kidnapped when she was 6 months old. I want to see him back with Lishay, my sister, with his father, Danny, and his siblings."
Eitan Abraham Mor was a security guard at the Nova festival who was seen helping others get to safety, The Times of Israel reported.
Tamir Nimrodi, who was 18 years old when he was kidnapped barefoot and without his glasses, according to The Jerusalem Post.
“He always said I was his best friend. ... I pray for the chance to have moments with him again," said his mom, Herut Nimrodi. "The emptiness in my heart is indescribable.”
Yosef-Chaim Ohana was at the musical festival with his friends to celebrate before he left for a pilot course in the United States, according to The Jerusalem Post. Ohana was among those trying to help people at the festival.
Alon Ohel, now 24, was at the Nova music festival when he was taken hostage, the family told ABC News. Hamas published a propaganda video last month in which he briefly could be seen.
"I could see his smile -- it was amazing. … I saw him smiling for a second, it's like a millisecond,” Alon Ohel’s mom, Idit Ohel, told ABC News last month. “I've been dreaming of” him coming home, she said.
Avinatan Or and his girlfriend, Noa Argamani, were both kidnapped at the Nova music festival and immediately separated. Argamani was rescued last year.
Matan Zangauker was kidnapped with his girlfriend, Ilana Gritzewsky, who was released in November 2023. She told USA Today earlier this year that she couldn't focus on healing while her boyfriend remained in captivity.
"My Matan, stay strong," his mom, Einav Zangauker, wrote in a letter to her son published in Haartez this week. "I will never give up on you."
As talks between Hamas and Israel continue about the potential release of the remaining hostages, the bodies of 26 hostages who are confirmed dead remain in Gaza.
They are identified as: Itay Chen, Inbar Hayman, Arie Zalmanowicz, Lior Rudaeff, Eliyahu Margalit, Meny Godard, Amiram Cooper, Tamir Adar, Muhammad Al-Atarash, Sahar Baruch, Uriel Baruch, Ronen Engel, Hadar Goldin, Ran Gvili, Tal Haimi, Guy Illouz, Eitan Levi, Joshua Loitu Mollel, Omer Neutra, Dror Oz, Daniel Oz, Daniel Peretz, Yossi Sharabi, Asaf Hamami, Sonthaya Oakkharasri and Sudthisak Rinthalak.