Israeli authorities say that an Israeli woman is believed to have been killed among the released hostages

An Israeli woman in her mid-to-late 70s, previously believed to have been murdered, is still alive and is among 13 hostages released on Friday, Israeli authorities said.

Hanna Katsir was kidnapped from her home on Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, when her husband, Rami, was killed. The Israeli government published her name, along with several others from the kibbutz, on a list of released hostages.

Palestinian Islamic Jihad, an armed group in Gaza that sometimes works in coordination with Hamas, claimed on its Telegram channel on Tuesday that Katzir had died.

A post on the Telegram channel of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement said: “We announce the death of settler Hanna Katsir, whom we had previously expressed our readiness to release – for humanitarian reasons – but the enemy’s procrastination led to the loss of her life.”

But after 49 days in captivity, Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari announced on Friday that Katzir had been released.

Liat Bell Sommer, spokeswoman for the Forum for Families of Hostages and Missing Persons, said Katsir is a mother of three and has six grandchildren. Sommer said she and her husband are inseparable.

“[Katzir’s] “Family and friends describe her as a woman with a big heart who gave of herself to others,” Sommer said. “She worked for many years as a nanny on the kibbutz.”

The names of 12 other hostages were released on Friday. At least five of them are over 70 years old. Here are their stories:

Adina Moshe (72 years old) and Yaffa Adar (85 years old).

Adina Moshe and Yaffa Adar were kidnapped from the same community where Katsir was kidnapped, Kibbutz Nir Oz.

A video of Adar driving to Gaza on a golf cart was widely circulated on social media, with her three children and grandchildren publicly calling for her return. One of Adar’s grandchildren, who was kidnapped with her, is still in captivity.

Moshe returns to her children and four grandchildren. Her husband, Saeed Moshe, was killed by Hamas.

Hannah Berry, 79

Hanna Berry, a 79-year-old diabetic woman from Kibbutz Nirim, has lived and worked in the kibbutz grocery store since immigrating to Israel in the 1960s from South Africa. She enjoys Tai Chi, gardening, and taking care of her cat.

One of her three children was kidnapped and another was killed on the day she was kidnapped.

Ohad Monder, 9 years old, his mother Keren Monder, and his grandmother Ruthie Monder, 78 years old

Ohad Mander, 9, and his mother, Keren, were visiting their grandparents, Ruthie and Avraham, on Kibbutz Nir Or when they were kidnapped. On the day of their kidnapping, they were all planning to go to a family gathering.

Ibrahim is still in captivity.

Keren, 54, is a children’s volleyball coach and special education teacher in Kfar Saba, where she and her son live.

Ruthie, 78, was a librarian and seamstress on the kibbutz before her retirement.

Doron Katz Asher, 34, and her daughters Aviv, 2, and Raz, 4

Doron Katz Asher and her two daughters, Aviv and Raz, were visiting their grandmother on Kibbutz Nir Oz when they were kidnapped. They live in Ganot Hadar where Doron works as an accountant.

Doron’s husband, Yoni Asher, received a phone call from his wife telling him that terrorists had entered the house where she was hiding. He later found videos on social media of his family crammed onto the back of a car.

Margalit Musa, 78

Margalit Musa is a cancer survivor who suffers from diabetes and fibromyalgia. Despite her health conditions, she loves hiking and bird watching. She also enjoys knitting, and participated in a hat knitting campaign for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

An avid traveler, Musa sailed to Norway last summer and plans to travel to Mozambique this winter.

Danielle Aloni, 44, and her daughter Emilia Aloni, 6

Danielle Aloni and her daughter Emilia were kidnapped on Saturday morning while on vacation in Kibbutz Nir Oz. In her last message to her family before the kidnapping, Danielle said she feared she would not survive because the terrorists were inside her sister’s house.

Daniel’s sister, Sharon Aloni Quino, was also kidnapped along with her 3-year-old twins and husband.