Raya and Hila Rotem, a mother-daughter combination, were kidnapped by Hamas militants on october 7 from their home's safe room. Raya, 54, informed her brother at 12:05 p.m. that she and her 13-year-old daughter had been abducted and were being transferred to Gaza. The two were only identified as Hamas hostages on october 29. However, while Hila was released on november 25 following a brief cease-fire agreement negotiated by qatar and the US between Hamas and israel, Raya remains a prisoner, much to the chagrin of family members.
Hila's uncle Yaie and a family friend met her in israel, along with Emily Hand, another liberated child captive. Emily was kidnapped while visiting Hila's residence in Kibbutz Be'eri. Emily was first thought to have been murdered. "Emily has returned to us!" "After 50 challenging and complicated days, we can't find the words to describe our emotions," her family wrote in a statement to CBS News.
On saturday night, october 25, a second batch of 17 hostages kidnapped by Hamas during the october 7 incident were freed. In exchange, 39 Palestinian women and children who were imprisoned in israel were also released. According to the office of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, 13 Israelis and four Thai nationals were released. Six Israeli women between the ages of 18 and 67, as well as seven Israeli children aged 3 to 16, were allegedly freed.
