Gaza hostages

Every day is Memorial Day: A mother's daily battle with grief and the choice to live - opinion

Memorial Day holds new meaning for Shirit Yerushalmi, who reflects on life after losing her daughter in Gaza.

|BySHIRIT YERUSHALMI
People next to photos of victims of terror attacks and fallen Israeli soldiers at Dizengoff Square in Tel Aviv on the eve of Israel’s Memorial Day, April 20, 2026.
Pictures of Shiri Bibas and her children Kfir and Ariel, in Jerusalem, February 20, 2025

Op. Red Heart: Fallen soldier’s mother reveals son was killed in op. tied to Bibas rescue attempt

The disclosure came more than two years after the soldiers’ deaths and after Israel later learned that Shiri Bibas and her children had already been killed in captivity. 

|BySHIR PERETS
Former hostage Emily Damari lights the torch during the main rehearsal of the 77th anniversary Independence Day ceremony, held at Mount Herzl, Jerusalem, on April 28, 2025.

Thousands urge Israeli media to skip state Independence Day ceremony, air civilian alternative

The campaign was launched by Yotam Kipnis, a resident of Kibbutz Be’eri who lost both his parents and several relatives in the October 7 massacre.

|ByTOBIAS SIEGAL
RACHEL AND JON Goldberg-Polin attend the funeral of their son, Hersh, in Jerusalem.

'I feel like we failed' to bring Gaza hostages home, Rachel Goldberg-Polin tells CBS's 60 Minutes

"What we were fighting for did happen. We got all these people home, not the way we wanted. We wanted them home, alive, but they had come home," she told Anderson Cooper.

|ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF

Final hostage Ran Gvili is buried, Trump announces armada headed for Iran

The Jerusalem Post's must-listen news roundup with Shifra Jacobs—the top stories, clear and concise.

JANUARY 28, 2026ByJERUSALEM POST PODCASTS
IDF troops honor slain hostage St.-Sgt.-Maj. Ran Gvili after his remains were recovered in Gaza on Januray 26, 2026.

No retreat: Now that all hostages are back, Israel must finish off Hamas - opinion

The completion of the phase of returning the hostages from Gaza must serve as a lesson that it is both a security and moral obligation to decisively defeat Hamas.

JANUARY 28, 2026ByYARON BUSKILA
An illustrative photo of Hamas terrorists with hostage demonstrations in the background.

Now that all hostages are home, Israel must open inquiry into October 7 massacre - editorial

Closure brings its own burden: a country that has endured this scale of loss still needs to fathom how and why Israel was so catastrophically unprepared.

JANUARY 28, 2026ByJPOST EDITORIAL
The countdown clock in Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, seen after it was stopped on January 27, 2026.

Netanyahu claims IDF Gaza losses due to lack of ammunition, Trump improved situation

At a joint conference with Hostage Coordinator Gal Hirsch, Netanyahu pointed out that, for the first time in 12 years, there are no hostages being held in the Gaza Strip. 

JANUARY 27, 2026ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to the press following Ran Gvili's return to Israel on January 27, 2026.

Bring them all home: Israel's 12-year fight to ensure every hostage is rescued from Gaza - feature

To celebrate this day and honor those who have fallen, The Jerusalem Post has created a timeline in remembrance of the national struggle to finally bring every hostage home.

JANUARY 27, 2026BySHIR PERETS
People walk past a wall displaying posters of hostages, in Tel Aviv, Israel, August 18, 2024

WATCH: IDF releases footage, pictures from Ran Gvili rescue mission

The IDF found the remains of the last Israeli hostage from the October 7 invasion, St.-Sgt.-Maj. Ran Gvili, on Monday at around 2:00 p.m. at al-Batesh cemetery in northern Gaza

JANUARY 27, 2026ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
IDF troops surround slain hostage Ran Gvili's remains.

Jewish world marks first day with no hostages in Gaza by shedding symbols of support

The return of Ran Gvili’s body on Monday ended a two-and-a-half-year advocacy campaign to return the roughly 250 hostages taken by Hamas on October 7, 2023.

JANUARY 27, 2026ByPHILISSA CRAMER/JTA
The yellow ribbon pin became a ubiquitous symbol for solidarity with the hostages held by Hamas.

WATCH: Hostages Square countdown clock stopped after 843 days

Gvili's return marks the end of the saga of returning all live and deceased hostages taken by Hamas on October 7. 

JANUARY 27, 2026ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
The countdown clock in Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, seen after it was stopped on January 27, 2026.

'No reasonable person can get used to it': IDF commander on recovering Gvili's remains - interview

Gvili was killed in battle fighting infiltrating Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023, after saving the lives of partygoers fleeing the Nova music festival in Re’im and defending Kibbutz Alumim.

JANUARY 27, 2026ByMAYA ZANGER-NADIS
Israeli military forces search for the remains of St.-Sgt.-Maj. Ran Gvili in a Gaza City cemetery on Jan. 25, 2026.

With no more hostages in Gaza, Israel can begin to move forward - editorial

Something fundamental has shifted, allowing Israel to start thinking about turning a page.

JANUARY 27, 2026ByJPOST EDITORIAL
Israeli police officers and others ride their motorbikes towards the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute, as the body of last Israeli hostage arrives by ambulance in Tel Aviv on January 26, 2026.