Hamas released 12 additional hostages from captivity Tuesday — including an 84-year-old grandmother of 20 and the daughter of Holocaust survivors who taught Israelis Arabic to try and help improve relations with her Gazan neighbors.
So far, Hamas has freed 81 hostages since the cease-fire deal began Friday, with Israel releasing 147 Palestinian prisoners in return.
The peaceful pause has been extended until Wednesday, when at least 10 more hostages are expected to be released.
Negotiators are pursuing talks to extend the cease-fire until at least Friday.
Here are the 10 Israelis — all women ranging in age from 17 to 84 — who were just released:
Mia Leimberg, 17, was released alongside her dog, Bella, on Tuesday. via REUTERS
Gabriela Leimberg, 59, was with her daughter, Mia, and family in Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak when they were abducted. AFP via Getty ImagesGabriela and Mia Leimberg
Gabriela Leimberg, 59, and her daughter Mia, 17, were staying with family in Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak when they were kidnapped by Hamas gunmen on Oct. 7.
Their relatives told reporters earlier this month that the family was getting together for the Sukkot holiday when they were forced to hide in the home’s safe room as the terrorist attack began and Gabriela, Mia and other kin were eventually captured.
Mia is a student at the Jerusalem High School of Arts, and Gabriela is the director of Eyal’s Farm, a ranch for autistic adults in Jerusalem, according to the Times of Israel.
Mia was among the first hostages pictured being released by Hamas on Tuesday, with the teenager carrying her dog Bella, with her.
Clara Marman, a relative of the Leimbergs, was also released Tuesday. via REUTERSClara Marman
Clara Marman, 62, is Gabriela Leimberg’s older sister who hosted the family for the holiday during the terrorist attack.
Marman lives in the Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak with her partner, Luis Norberto Har, who remains in Hamas custody along with Marman’s brother, Fernando.
Har’s daughters said they received the terrifying message, “They’re in,” from their family the moment Hamas gunmen broke into their father’s home and kidnapped the clan.
Marman worked as a kindergarten teacher for 30 years, according to the Bring Them Back organization, which advocates for the release of the hostages taken by Hamas.
Ada Sagi dedicated herself to teaching Israelis Arabic to help them improve relations with their Palestinian neighbors. AP Ada Sagi
Ada Sagi, 75, was preparing to travel to London to celebrate her birthday when she was kidnapped by Hamas on the Kibbutz Nir Oz.
Sagi, a mother of three and the daughter of Holocaust survivors, was born in Tel Aviv and committed herself to learning Arabic to form friendships with her Palestinian neighbors.
She went on to teach the language to others in Israel as a way to try and improve relations between Israelis and Palestinians who lived in Gaza.
Her son, Noam, said Sagi was kidnapped while still recovering not just from the physical pain of a recent hip replacement surgery but from the heartache of losing her husband to cancer last year.
Ditza Heiman, 84, a grandmother of 20, was released in a wheelchair after more than seven weeks in captivity. AFP via Getty ImagesDitza Heiman
Ditza Heiman, 84, a grandmother of 20, lived in a small neighborhood about 1.5 miles from the Gaza border when she was kidnapped by Hamas.
A family member had called Heiman’s phone during the attack, and someone picked up the phone and responded in Arabic, ‘It’s Hamas. It’s Hamas,” ABC reported.
A neighbor heard Heiman scream for help when the gunmen abducted her from a safe room and loaded her into a vehicle during the Oct. 7 attack, her family said.
Corey Shdaimah, her daughter-in-law, said the beloved grandmother is famous for her chicken soup recipe, which feeds her large family in Ardmore, Pa., whenever they’re together.
“She’s an open person and loving,” Shdaimah said.
Tamar Metzger, 78, is in the front row of the bus that was being transported out of Gaza. Al Qahera NewsTamar Metzger
Tamar Metzger, 78, was kidnapped along with her husband Yoram, 80, from their Kibbutz Nir Oz, one of the hardest hit communities of the Oct. 7 terrorist attack.
The couple sent their family a message that morning, at 8:50 a.m., before being abducted, informing their relatives that they had taken refuge in their home’s safe room.
Tamar worked as an educator and at a store in the kibbutz, with her husband having spent decades at the Nirlat painting factory, according to The Times of Israel.
While Tamar has been freed, Yoram remains in Gaza and suffers from diabetes and pain from a broken hip.
Noralin Agojo, 60, was taken hostage in Kibbutz Nirim after Hamas killed her husband. via REUTERSNoralin Agojo
Noralin Agojo, 60, a Filipino-Israeli citizen, was at the Kibbutz Nirim on Oct. 7 when she was abducted by Hamas.
Agojo had traveled with her husband, Gideon Babani, from Yehud for the holidays when the terrorist group raided the home of a close friend they were staying with, the Times of Israel reports.
While Agojo was taken captive by Hamas, her husband was killed by the terrorists.
Her brother, Exo, had been vocal on social media advocating for his sister’s release. He described her as a person who values friendship and her garden in Yehud.
Merav Tal was released Tuesday, more than seven weeks after she called family about Hamas shooting at her inside her safe room. via REUTERSMerav Tal
Merav Tal, 53, was also at Kibbutz Nir Oz when she and her husband, Yaya Yaakovi, were kidnapped by Hamas.
During the raid in the kibbutz, Tal told her family on WhatsApp that the gunmen had broken into her house and were firing at the safe room she and Yaakovi were taking refuge in, according to the Jerusalem Post.
“They are inside the house,” she said in the voice recording. “They shot at us in the room. They are inside … Help me! Yair is wounded. Call the police.”
While Yaakovi’s condition as a hostage in Gaza remains unclear, his two children, Or Yaakov, 16, and Yagil Yaakov, 12, were among the hostages released Monday.
Rimon Kirscht, 36, is pictured in an Egyptian facility after being released from Gaza. Al Qahera NewsRimon Kirscht
Rimon Kirscht, 36, was kidnapped with her husband, Yagev Buchshtab, 34, from Kibbutz Nirim.
Her sister-in-law, Nidam Kirscht, said Rimon had called her family about Hamas gunmen spotted walking by every house in the kibbutz and firing.
“She continued to text us and to let us know what was going on with her, and then finally she says, you know, ‘I smell fire. I hear a blast. They are breaking in,’ and she sent a last voicemail to her mother, and she says, ‘I love you so much. I’m so sorry I can’t be there with you,’ ” Nidam told KCRA.
Kirscht was among the three hostages filmed in a video by Hamas chastising Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 23 days into their captivity.
The women accused Netanyahu of “political and national neglect” and of “screwing up” Oct. 7, but the prime minister slammed the Hamas video as “cruel psychological propaganda.”
Ophelia Roitman, 77, an Argentinian native, was one of the dual nationals released Tuesday. via REUTERSOphelia Roitman
Ophelia Roitman, 77, was living in Kibbutz Nir Oz for the past 38 years after immigrating from Argentina when she was abducted by Hamas.
The dual citizen was in touch with her family during the raid, texting them, “Please send help, the Palestinians are here,” before disappearing, the Times of Israel reports.
Roitman, a mother of three and grandmother of nine, spent five years as a principal of a Jewish school in Argentina before coming to Israel to continue her work as an educator.
Her daughter, Natalie Madmon, had appeared in several social media videos pleading for her mother’s safe return, noting that Roitman was likely helping take care of children while in Gaza given her decades of work as a first- and second-grade teacher.



