These Are the 14 Women Remaining in Captivity in Gaza, Facing an Uncertain Fate
“I asked her not to cry so they wouldn’t hear her – but after 3 and a half hours [of hiding], we heard Arabic on the other end of the line. Eden’s last words in the call were ‘They caught me.’”
Seventy-one days have passed since the Hamas terror group’s barbaric terror attack of October 7, and some 132 Israeli hostages remain in Hamas captivity in Gaza—including men, women, and children ranging in age from 11 months to 85 years.
Among the 132, there are reportedly 14 women, young and old.
Liri Albag, 18
Liri Albag (Courtesy)
Liri Albag was kidnapped from the Nahal Oz IDF base on the Gaza border, where she served as a surveillance soldier. She completed basic training and reported to the base on Thursday, October 5, just two days before her abduction.
The last known contact with Albag occurred between her and her mother, Shira, at 6:30 am on October 7. Liri reported being in a field shelter under Hamas rocket attack. Hours later, while searching for Liri in hospitals across the country, Shira and Liri’s boyfriend identified her in a Hamas GoPro video capturing her abduction.
Liri is described by her mother and sister as a strong girl who enjoys exploring life, holding an optimistic perspective described as ‘no need to get upset; the world is beautiful.’
Following released hostages’ testimonies of severe physical, sexual, and psychological abuse, Albag’s father, Eli, called on Israeli cabinet members to return to negotiations. He stated, “You abandoned us once before; do not abandon us again.”
Noa Argamani, 26
Noa Argamani (Courtesy)
Noa Argamani was abducted from the Nova music festival alongside her boyfriend, Avinatan Or. In the now-famous video capturing her abduction, she stretches her arms toward Avinatan while pleading, “Don’t kill me” from the back of a motorcycle.
As the only daughter of Liora and Yaakov Argamani, Noa was set to begin her junior year at Ben Gurion University, majoring in Information Systems Engineering. Additionally, she played a role in caring for her mother Liora, who is battling terminal cancer.
In a video released by Liora, the grieving mother appeals for Noa’s release, expressing a desperate desire to see her daughter one last time.
Karina Ariev, 19
Karina Ariev (Courtesy)
Karina Ariev, a surveillance soldier, was abducted from the Nahal Oz IDF Base.
Sasha Ariev, Karina’s sister, revealed, “In my last phone call with my sister, she already seemed to know what was happening and said to me, ‘If I die, continue with your life, look after our parents, keep living.’ Every minute, every second that my sister is there poses a danger to her life and to all the girls with her.”
Ariev’s family describes her as a gentle girl with a big heart who takes care of everything. Sasha mentioned that Karina was studying psychology “to help people.”
Karina was taken in her pajamas on the morning of October 7. Her last contact was around 7:40 am. A Hamas video published on Telegram shows Karina and two others lying in the back of a jeep, surrounded by men speaking Arabic.
Agam Berger, 19
Agam Berger (Courtesy)
Agam, also known as “Gagi,” was kidnapped from the Nahal Oz IDF Base, where she served as a communications lookout. It was her first weekend on the base.
A Hamas video on Telegram shows her being led to a car in her pajamas. Her last known contact was with her father, during which she reported shots being fired on the base.
Berger’s family describes her as a talented violinist who volunteered to support special populations, assisting children with learning difficulties or challenges at home. She has a twin sister named Li-Yam, as well as a younger sister and brother. The family resides in Holon.
Shiri Bibas, 32
Shiri Bibas (Courtesy)
The infamous video of Shiri Bibas depicts her kidnapping from her home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, along with her two sons, Ariel, 4, and Kfir, 11 months. Israeli officials state that she and the boys were supposed to be released by Hamas as part of a temporary cease-fire in November, but the Hamas terror group reneged on the deal.
Separately, Shiri’s husband, Yarden, 34, was taken hostage and is likely held in separate captivity. He is presumed alive, as indicated by a hostage video released by Hamas in which terrorists inform Yarden that his wife and children were killed. However, there is no evidence to support this claim, and Hamas has lied about hostage deaths in the past.
Regardless, the psychological torture likely intended by Hamas was achieved. In a meeting with the Knesset Finance Committee, Ofri Bibas, Yarden’s sister, stated, “I will try to describe our nightmare to you a little bit. A week or so ago, we received a message from Hamas that Shiri and the children were killed; we still don’t know if it’s 100% true.”
Yarden’s cousin, Eylon Keshet, also spoke of the “unimaginable conditions” Yarden must be enduring, all alone, and believing that his family is gone.
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Yifat Zeiler, a relative of the Bibas family, is another voice advocating for a return to the table and negotiating a hostage release. “We saw the fruits of the deal. … A military operation will not yield these results right now, not alone,” she said.
Amit Esther Buskila, 28
Amit Buskila (Courtesy)
Amit Buskila was abducted from the Nova party on October 7. She is a fashion stylist with a substantial following on social media.
According to reports, Buskila was on the phone with her uncle, Shimon, during the initial hours of Hamas’ attack.
He says that she described hiding behind cars and hearing the terrorists approaching. Then, he heard her pleading—her last known words were “No, no, no,” and weakly, “I love you.” After this, Shimon says he heard gunshots and yelling in Arabic, but Amit was out of reach.
Buskila, who was raised by a single mother, “celebrated” her 28th birthday while in captivity.
Carmel Gat, 39
Carmel Gat (Courtesy)
Carmel, an occupational therapist, was abducted from her family home in Kibbutz Be’eri, along with her mother Kinneret, her brother Alon, sister-in-law Yarden Roman, and Yarden and Alon’s 3-year-old daughter Geffen.
They were taken together in a vehicle stolen from the Kibbutz. In a daring moment, Alon, Yarden, and Geffen managed to escape. Unfortunately, Yarden was recaptured and later released by Hamas as part of the temporary truce. She spent 54 days in captivity before reuniting with her husband and daughter. Carmel remains in captivity, and Kinneret was murdered.
Daniella Gilboa, 19
Daniel Gilboa (Courtesy)
Serving as an observation soldier at the IDF 414th Combat Intelligence Collection Unit, Gilboa was abducted from the Nahal Oz Base.
She was identified in a Hamas video where Gilboa and several of her friends were taken by Hamas into Gaza.
Daniella’s mother, Orly, recounted how on October 7, “we didn’t know what was happening. In the evening, when I realized that the army had taken control of the area and I hadn’t received any news about her condition, I thought the worst.” Additionally, Orly explains how “until that cursed day [October 7], Daniella was called Daniel. But after consulting with a rabbi, her family added the Hebrew letter ‘Hey’ to her name.”
Romi Gonen, 23
Romi Gonen (Courtesy)
Romi Gonen was abducted at the Nova festival in Re’im. In an emotional address, Romi’s sister, Yarden, recounts how Romi was taken after being shot in the hand after witnessing her best friend’s murder.
Throughout the Hamas terrorist incursion, Gonen remained on the phone with her mother, Meirav. At 10:15, Gonen informed her mother that she had been shot, stating, “Everyone in the car is bleeding.”
When the car was eventually discovered, it was empty. Romi is described as a cheerful individual and a former scout counselor.
Naama Levy, 19
Naama Levy (Courtesy)
Naama was kidnapped on Saturday, October 7 from the Nahal Oz IDF Base. She had just finished her training to be a part of the border observation unit and arrived on base on Thursday, October 5.
In a now infamous video of her capture in Gaza, Naama can be seen in gray sweatpants and a black t-shirt as a Hamas terrorist drags her by her hair from the trunk of a jeep—at gunpoint—and into the backseat. Her hands are bound behind her back. She’s bleeding from her eye. Her ankles appear to have been cut, presumably to prevent her from running. And there is a large bloodstain on the seat of her pants.
Her injuries are consistent with evidence of a brutal sexual assault.
In an article written for The Free Press, Naama’s mother, Ayelet Levy Shachar, writes “You have seen the video of my daughter Naama Levy. Everyone has. You have seen her dragged by her long brown hair from the back of a Jeep at gunpoint, somewhere in Gaza, her gray sweatpants covered in blood. You may have perhaps noticed that her ankles are cut, that she’s barefoot and limping. She is seriously injured. She is frightened. And I, her mother, am helpless in these moments of horror.”
The final contact between Naama and her mother was at 7 am on the morning of her capture. Naama sent a WhatsApp message reading “We’re in the safe room. I’ve never heard anything like this.”
She’s described as a girl who believes in the good of all people, who dreams of a future in diplomacy, and who was a member of “Hands of Peace,” which unites American, Israeli, and Palestinian youths for grassroots social change and action.
“I pray that the image of her abduction, and the experience of what that image represents, isn’t how she comes to see the world;” writes Levy Shachar about the trauma Naama must be experiencing with every new day in captivity.
Doron Steinbrecher, 30
Doron Steinbrecher (Courtesy)
A nurse and veterinarian from Kibbutz Kfar Aza, Doron Steinbrecher, was abducted from her home in the morning hours of October 7.
Her friends and family, who maintained contact with Steinbrecher until her capture, report that she blocked the door and hid under her bed for hours, hoping to wait out the Hamas terrorists’ genocidal assault on her community.
Her mother and sister tried to calm her over the phone, assuring her that military forces were on their way. Unfortunately, they would not arrive on time.
Four hours after the shooting began, Steinbrecher sent a voice recording to her close friends’ WhatsApp group, repeatedly crying, ‘they caught me, they caught me.’
In calling on the government to do more for the abductees, Yamit Ashkenazi, Steinbrecher’s sister, says, “My family was abandoned on October 7, and all the hostages were also abandoned. I will not let anyone abandon my sister again.”
Judy Weinstein, 70
Judy Weinstein (Courtesy)
Judy Weinstein—an American-Israeli dual national—and her husband, Gad Haggai, 73, were out for their weekly Saturday morning walk by their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz when the red alert rocket sirens started blaring on October 7.
Iris Weinstein-Haggai, their daughter, says she called her parents on the phone, and they told her they had taken cover under some nearby trees, but that they had also started to hear gunfire, and Gad was injured.
This was the last contact between Iris and her parents—both of whom are still in Hamas’ captivity in Gaza.
Judy teaches mindfulness, meditation, and children’s English classes.
Arbel Yehoud, 28
Arbel Yehoud (Courtesy)
Arbel, a third-generation resident of Kibbutz Nir Oz, is known as “the favorite aunt” and has a passion for space and astronomy. She works as a guide on these topics at the Groove-Tech center in the Eshkol Regional Council. Recently returning from an extended trip through Central and South America with her partner, Ariel Cunio, 26.
She was abducted from her home on October 7, along with her brother Dolev, 35, who lives in the same kibbutz with his family, her partner Ariel, Ariel’s brother David Cunio, 33, and David Cunio’s family, including his wife Sharon Aloni-Cunio, 34, his twin 3-year-old daughters Emma and Yuly, his sister-in-law Danielle Aloni, 45, and Danielle’s 5-year-old daughter Emilia.
Danielle, Sharon, and the three children were released as part of the hostage-prisoner swap agreement between Israel and Hamas. However, Arbel, Ariel, David, and Dolev are still captives in Gaza. Their condition, like that of the others, is unknown.
Eden Yerushalmi, 24
Eden Yerushalmi (Courtesy)
Eden, a bartender from Tel Aviv, is described by her sisters as the girl everyone loves, “always happy, always laughing.”
She was kidnapped, like so many, from the Nova music festival where she had gone with a group of friends.
Her terrifying final moments of contact are preserved by her sisters, Shani and May.
Around 7:20 in the morning of October 7, Shani recounts that Eden called, screaming against the background noise of chaos and terrorists’ gunfire, as she ran for cover.
“We tried to help her as much as we could,” Shani says, explaining how they tried to keep her calm, reminding her to breathe. Among Eden’s hiding places were thorny bushes, and a car where her friends had been murdered.
Eden pretended to be dead among them.
“She was humiliated, terrified, and so scared that she wet herself. I asked her not to cry so they wouldn’t hear her;” Shani continues. But after 3 and a half hours of talking, Eden heard Hamas terrorists approaching, and for the first time in their conversation, Shani and May could hear Arabic on the other end of the line.
Eden’s last words in the call were “They caught me.”
