Israeli and Palestinian captives and prisoners: A timeline of key events

Israelis held captive in Gaza and Palestinians swept into Israel detention centres have been the focus of ceasefire talks.Published On 26 Jan 2026Israeli authorities have said that there are no remaining captives left in Gaza after they received the remains of police officer Ran Gvili, fulfilling a key component of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.The plight of Israeli and Palestinian captives has been a focus of ceasefire talks, with hundreds of people taken captive by Palestinian fighters during the October 7, 2023 attacks and subsequent waves of detentions of Palestinians by Israeli forces.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Envoys from US meet Netanyahu as Israel continues to bomb Gazalist 2 of 3Israel to reopen Gaza’s Rafah crossing after search for captive’s body endslist 3 of 3Remains of last Israeli captive recovered from Gaza, says Israeli militaryend of listThe return of the captives held in Gaza became an issue of particular resonance in Israel during the two-year Israel-Palestine war, causing a schism between protesters who pushed for a negotiated deal to secure their release and hardliners in the government who prioritised pushing forward with the destruction of Gaza.Palestinians detained by Israel have been held in prisons and detention facilities where rights groups have reported that torture, sexual assault, and other severe abuses are systematic and widespread.Here’s a brief timeline of developments regarding Palestinian and Israeli captives over the last several years.2023October: Palestinian fighters carry out an attack on communities across southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and taking 251 Israeli and foreign captives, according to Israeli figures. In the following weeks, Hamas releases two Israeli-American captives and two elderly captives, and Israeli forces recover an Israeli soldier taken captive during the attack.November: A deal is reached between Israel and Hamas that will result in the largest release of captives until the 2025 ceasefire deal, with 81 Israeli women and children and 24 foreign captives released. The agreement includes a slight increase in humanitarian aid entering Gaza, choked off by Israel in defiance of international law, and the release of 240 Palestinian women and teenage detainees and prisoners held by Israel, many of them being held without charge.